USA TODAY International Edition
‘Divide’ shows a private Ailes
Who makes your news?
That question is at the center of “Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes,” a new documentary out Dec. 7 (in theaters in select cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Washington, and streaming on Amazon Prime and iTunes) that studies the life of the Fox News founder and CEO. Ailes, who died in 2017 at age 77 after resigning in disgrace amid sexual harassment allegations the year prior, spent most of his life as a Republican power broker.
He cannily transitioned from daytime talk show producer to political operative, advising presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. In 1996, he masterminded the launch of Fox News, with the backing of Rupert Murdoch.
“I don’t think people fully understand the breadth and the depth of his influence. He knew all the Republican candidates from the ’60s, from the Nixon era,” says director Alexis Bloom . “So he had this enormous institutional knowledge. He then parlayed that by giving candidates a forum to speak through Fox, and he could make or break candidates.”
Even if you’re a Fox News junkie, you may not know these five things about the network’s chief architect. ❚ Ailes wanted dirt on Glenn Beck: In “Divide and Conquer,” a bearded, casually dressed Beck offers up a surprising story: Ailes once called the former Fox News star into his office and inferred he knew about Beck’s affair. The problem, Beck says? He wasn’t having an affair. It’s an example of how Ailes would dig for dirt on those in his orbit for later use, should he need it. ❚ He ordered up short skirts and
lights under anchor desks: Ailes’ history of alleged sexual harassment started at the beginning of his career, the documentary finds, interviewing former model Marsha Callahan, who says she was harassed by Ailes in the late ‘60s when he worked on “The Mike Douglas Show.” “He asked me to sit on the sofa, pull my skirt up, stand in different poses while he was taking Polaroids of me,” Callahan says in the documentary. “Then he said he would put me on the show but I had to go to bed with him.”
At the launch of Fox News, “Divide and Conquer” reveals that short skirts were advocated for female anchors, with lights put under desks to show off their legs. “Cleavage is low, hems are high,” says Bloom, adding that in the Fox News orbit, “women were worthy entertainment. And the only thing standing between the viewer and the apocalypse are these hot babes in tight dresses and old white men who represent the Fox audience. It’s this great cocktail of sex and fear.”
A year before the #MeToo movement took off, Gretchen Carlson filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit against him, alleging sexual harassment and a sexist culture within Fox News. Ailes was forced to resign, and the network settled with Carlson for $20 million, offering a public apology. By the time Ailes died, the network’s parent, 21st Century Fox, had paid $45 million in settlements related to sexual harassment cases against the founder. ❚ He carried a gun at all times: The documentary reveals the depth of Ailes’ paranoia. The news chief kept guns in his office and carried a licensed weapon at all times. After a Bangladeshi Fox News employee mistakenly walked into his office, “Roger immediately assumes he’s a terrorist trying to kill him,” Bloom says. Shortly after, Ailes constructed an extra layer of security to reach his office. ❚ He had an unusual exercise routine: Not exactly a gym rat, Ailes preferred an aerobic activity that might surprise his audience: He tap danced “every week,” Bloom says. ❚ He believed he had the power to
pick presidents: Including Donald Trump. For years, “he put Trump on Fox News every Monday and put him on all the major shows opining about political or economic matters,” Bloom says. “Nobody else was giving Trump a forum. He undoubtedly gave Trump a political legitimacy he would not otherwise have been given.” That’s not to say Ailes wanted Trump in the White House. “I don’t think it was Ailes’ first choice but he certainly got behind him,” Bloom says. “There’s a revolving door between the Republican Party and Fox News.”