He was replaced by Rupert Murdoch, head of parent company 21st Century Fox and founder of the empire that includes Fox.
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Rupert Murdoch, the executive co-chairman of Fox’s parent company 21st Century Fox, will assume the role of chairman and acting chief executive of Fox News and Fox Business Network.
“Roger Ailes has made a remarkable contribution to our company and our country”, Mr Murdoch said in the statement.
The departure of Ailes comes less than three weeks after former Fox anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit alleging that Ailes retaliated against her and sabotaged her career because she complained about a hostile work environment at the network and rebuffed his advances.
Since the allegations by Carlson became public – she filed a suit in a New Jersey Superior Court on July 6 – reports have emerged of other women who have worked with Ailes in the past also saying that he sought sexual favors in return for employment.
However, Ailes has not agreed to the allegations.
Trump tweeted on Thursday, “Roger Ailes only called”.
But they didn’t have a media mogul like Rupert Murdoch to step in to guide the newsroom through what will likely be a challenging time.
There was talk about an exodus of Fox talent with Ailes; Bill O’Reilly has mused about retirement and reportedly he and Sean Hannity have the ability contractually to leave if Ailes is gone. But let’s be clear on something: Even here, Fox News is proclaiming their fake populist message in the downfall of their corporate honcho. The Murdoch sons may also seek to make a statement by reaching outside the current Fox News culture.
Ailes’ departure is effective immediately.
The allegations provided a foundation for owner Rupert Murdoch sons, Lachlan, 44, and James, 43, to press for Ailes’s ouster, according to people at Fox and 21st Century Fox.
Several Fox employees jumped to Ailes’ defense, but notably not Megyn Kelly, one of Fox’s top personalities.
After first meeting Richard Nixon on the set of “The Mike Douglas Show”, Ailes was hired by the then-presidential candidate to be his media advisor during the campaign, which marked his first professional foray into politics.
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Ailes was a prominent Republican media consultant who later ran CNBC before Murdoch asked him to create a cable news network to compete with CNN at the same time MSNBC was starting. The piece was widely regarded as the most influential ad of the political cycle. “Roger shared my vision of a great and independent television organization and executed it brilliantly over 20 great years”, Murdoch said in the statement. “Fox News has given voice to those who were ignored by the traditional networks and has been one of the great commercial success stories of modern media”.
