Roger Ailes, Former Fox News Chief, Dies at 77
Ailes left network last year amid sexual-harassment controversy
Roger Ailes, who combined political savvy with television showmanship to build the Fox News Channel into a conservative media juggernaut, becoming one of American media’s most controversial figures along the way, died Thursday. He was 77 years old.The cause of death wasn’t immediately known. Mr. Ailes had been in failing health, and had recently been hospitalized after a fall... Mr. Ailes pioneered a style of cable news with opinionated, right-leaning prime-time programming delivered by pugnacious hosts.
.. Through a career in politics dating back to the 1960s and his leadership of Fox News, Mr. Ailes helped shape the modern conservative movement.
.. Known for his bluntness and disdain for the so-called liberal media elites
.. Rupert Murdoch: .. “He will be remembered by the many people on both sides of the camera that he discovered, nurtured and promoted.”
.. Mr. Ailes also demanded loyalty, and he usually got it. When Mr. Ailes was building Fox News, almost 100 people from NBC went with him, causing executives there to complain that he was stealing staff. “You don’t know the difference between recruitment and a jailbreak,” he fired back.
.. In his letter of resignation, Mr. Ailes didn’t address the sexual-harassment claims but told Mr. Murdoch, “I am proud that we have built Fox News and Fox Business channels into powerful and lucrative news organizations that inform our audience and reward our shareholders.”
.. I met him once, and he was more than anything unashamed of his role in creating value by increasing an audience by the means he correctly saw as most potent — conflict. Whether you like the message or not, you cannot ignore screaming, and Ailes proved screaming pays very well regardless of whether there is anything remotely worth screaming about.