Ailes out, Murdoch in.
Ailes is out as head of news; Murdoch named acting chief
NEW YORK — Roger Ailes is out as chief executive at Fox News Channel, his career at the network he built from scratch and ran with an iron hand for nearly 20 years over with stunning swiftness following allegations that he forced out a former anchor after she spurned his sexual advances.
Network parent 21st Century Fox said Thursday that Rupert Murdoch, the company’s executive chairman, would run Fox News and its sister Fox Business Network, which Ailes had also led, until a successor could be found.
Murdoch and 21st Century Fox didn’t address the widening scandal in the statement on the resignation but lauded Ailes for his contributions. Ailes didn’t comment in the statement, and no details were given on a settlement agreement.
“I am personally committed to ensuring that Fox News remains a distinctive, powerful voice,” Murdoch said. “Our nation needs a robust Fox News to resonate from every corner of the country.”
Fox is heading into a general election campaign in its customary spot at the top of the ratings, but without the man who sets its editorial tone.
The blustery, 76- year- old media executive built a network that both transformed the news business and changed the political conversation.
Fox News Channel provided a television home to conservatives who felt left out of the media, and played a part in advancing a roughand-tumble style of politics that left many concerned that it was impossible to get things done in government.
Ailes’ downfall began with the July 6 filing of a lawsuit by Gretchen Carlson, who charged that he sabotaged her career because she refused his suggestions for sex and com- plained about a pervasive atmosphere of sexual harassment at Fox.
Ailes has denied the charges, but 21st Century Fox hired a law firm to investigate.
In a statement, Carlson’s attorneys credited Carlson’s “extraordinary courage” with causing “a seismic shift in the media world.”
Several Fox employees jumped to Ailes’ defense, but notably not Megyn Kelly, one of Fox’s top personalities. In rapid succession, it was reported that Kelly was among other women who had told investigators about harassment — again denied by Ailes — and that corporate heads Rupert Murdoch and his sons, James and Lachlan, determined that Ailes had to go. The company has no plans to make results of its investigation public.