Roger Ailes
Encyclopedia
Roger Eugene Ailes is president of Fox News Channel
, chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group
. Ailes was a media consultant for Republican presidents Richard Nixon
, Ronald Reagan
, and George H. W. Bush
, as well as Rudy Giuliani
’s first mayoral campaign in 1989.
, the son of Donna Marie (née Cunningham) and Robert Eugene Ailes, a factory maintenance foreman. Ailes suffers from hemophilia and was often hospitalized as a youth. Ailes attended the Warren city schools. Later, he was inducted into Warren High School's Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. Ailes received a bachelor's degree in 1962 from Ohio University
in Athens, Ohio
.
, for a then-locally produced talk-variety show, The Mike Douglas Show
. He later became executive producer for the show, which was syndicated
nationally. He was nominated for, but failed to win a Daytime Emmy Awards for it in 1968. It was in this position, in 1967, that he had a spirited discussion about television in politics with one of the show's guests, Richard Nixon
, who took the view that television was a gimmick. Later, Nixon called on Ailes to serve as his executive producer of TV. Nixon's election victory was only Ailes's first venture into the political spotlight. His pioneering work in framing national campaign issues and making the stiff Nixon more likeable and accessible to voters was chronicled in The Selling of the President 1968 by Joe McGinniss
.
in 1969, and consulted for various businesses and politicians, including WCBS-TV
. He also tried his hand in theater production with the Broadway musical Mother Earth (1972) and the Off-Broadway
hit play Hot l Baltimore (1973–76). He was executive producer for the television special The Last Frontier in 1974. He produced and directed a television special, Fellini: Wizards, Clowns and Honest Liars.
candidates during the 1960s, 70s and 80s. His first such job was as media advisor for the Nixon campaign in 1968. He returned to presidential campaigning as a consultant to Ronald Reagan
in the latter stages of the 1984 campaign. He is widely credited with having helped coach Reagan to victory in the second presidential debate with Walter Mondale
, after aides Richard Darman
and David Stockman
bungled preparations for the disastrous first debate.
In 1987 and 1988, Ailes was credited (along with Lee Atwater
) with guiding George H. W. Bush
to victory in the Republican primaries, and the later come-from-behind victory over Michael Dukakis
. Ailes scripted and (with Sig Rogich
) produced the "Revolving Door"
ad, as well as all of Bush's broadcast spots in the primary and general-election campaigns.
Ailes denies producing the so-called Willie Horton
ad, which showed the face of the convicted rapist furloughed by Michael Dukakis
. The ad was sponsored and funded by the independent-expenditure group National Security Political Action Committee (NSPAC), but the Democrats later charged the Bush campaign with illegally coordinating the ad with the NSPAC. The Federal Election Commission
(FEC) investigated the charge, but deadlocked on a 3-3 vote, essentially clearing Ailes and the campaign of any legal wrong-doing. Reliable sources credit Floyd Brown
with creating the ad.
Ailes also came up with the "orchestra pit theory" regarding sensationalist political coverage in the news media, with the question:
Ailes's last campaign was the unsuccessful effort of Richard Thornburgh for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania in November 1991. He announced his withdrawal from political consulting in 1992. Though he aided with behind-the-scenes speechwriting and coaching for both President and Mrs. Bush at the GOP Convention in Houston, Ailes did not work on the unsuccessful 1992 Bush campaign against Bill Clinton
.
Ailes's TV ads for the 1988 Bush campaign were extensively examined in the award-winning documentary film Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
.
Days after the 9/11 attacks, Ailes gave President George W. Bush
political advice indicating that the American public would be patient as long as they were convinced that Bush was using the harshest measures possible. The correspondence was revealed in Bob Woodward
's book Bush At War
. Ailes lashed out against Woodward, saying "Woodward got it all screwed up, as usual," and "The reason he's not as rich as Tom Clancy is that while he and Clancy both make stuff up, Clancy does his research first." Ailes refused to release a copy of the memo he sent to the President.
, first aired in 2000.
In 1988, Ailes wrote a book with long-time aide Jon Kraushar, called You Are the Message: Secrets of the Master Communicators, in which he discusses some of his philosophies and strategies for successful performance in the public eye.
In 1991, Ailes convinced a syndicator to bring Rush Limbaugh
from radio to television and became executive producer
of the late-night show. The show debuted in 1992 and was eventually discontinued in 1996. The pilot and series were produced with Richard Mincer, Maria Bianco (Dorfner), Kathleen Gleason and Nick Africano out of Unitel Studios on W. 57th Street in New York City
.
In 1993, Ailes became president of the cable
channel CNBC
and began planning another NBC
cable channel, America's Talking
. The new channel debuted on July 4, 1994. Ailes also hosted his own nightly show, Straight Forward, an hour-long talk show
.
and NBC's partnership to create an online and cable news outlet, MSNBC
, taking the place of America's Talking, Ailes left the network in February 1996 and was hired by Rupert Murdoch
to create Fox News Channel
for News Corporation
. In addition, eighty-nine additional employees of the NBC networks left with Ailes to help with the new channel's creation for launch, on October 7, 1996.
from News Corporation, Ailes was named Chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group
on August 15, 2005. Following his newest assignment, one of his first acts was canceling A Current Affair
in September 2005 and replacing it with a new Geraldo Rivera
show titled Geraldo at Large
, which debuted on Halloween
, 2005. Rivera's show drew about the same ratings as A Current Affair in January 2007. Ailes decided to cancel Geraldo at Large
to move Rivera back on Fox News Channel.
Ailes also hired former CBS
executive Dennis Swanson in October 2005 to be president of the Fox Television Stations Group. Additionally, there have been changes in affiliates' news programs with the standardization of Fox News Channel-like graphics, redesigned studios, news-format changes, and the announcement of a new morning television show
called The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet
to be produced by Fox News Channel.
He signed a new deal in November 2008 that keeps him at the network for another five years. Salary terms were not revealed although his current salary is a reported $5 million per year with bonuses and other compensation extra. His total compensation in 2009 was $23 million. In addition to heading Fox News, Ailes also chairs Fox Television Stations and Twentieth Television as well as MyNetwork TV and Fox Business Network
.
/WB
merger creating The CW network
, News Corporation announced the creation of MyNetworkTV
to provide an alternative network for its O&O UPN affiliates on February 22, 2006. Ailes only learned of UPN's demise 10 minutes before the official announcement. The network officially debuted on September 5, 2006, with a slate of telenovelas like Watch Over Me
and Wicked Wicked Games
, which received low ratings. The soap opera
s were phased out after a few months, it now airs programming targeted to 13-to-45-year-old males.
, the town in which they own a weekend/summer mansion. Upon purchase, he appointed his wife, Elizabeth Tilson, as the editor-in-chief. The newspaper, the Putnam County News and Recorder, has a circulation of approximately 4,000.
Ailes also purchased the Putnam County Courier in April 2009.
, friends of Ailes are encouraging him to make a run for the presidency in 2012. The story suggests that such talk is based on "more than mere speculation." Ailes has denied interest in a White House bid.
to lie to federal investigators regarding her affair with New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik
, nominated for Department of Homeland Security Secretary. According to the documents, Regan alleges that Ailes wanted her to lie to protect Rudolph Giuliani who was in the early stages of a presidential campaign. The court documents also state that Regan taped one of the conversations between Ailes and herself, where Ailes discusses her relationship with Kerik.
Two days later, commentator Barry Ritholtz revealed Ailes had canceled a New York City benefit the next month thrown by a prominent Republican, over the possibility of being indicted.
In July 1997, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
reported that Ailes was engaged to Elizabeth Tilson (born December 1960), whom he married on February 14, 1998. Formerly a television executive, she is now a homemaker
and titular publisher of The Putnam County News and Recorder. They have one son.
Ailes is a longtime friend of journalist and media personality Barbara Walters
.
for a renovated student newsroom. The new facility will double the size of the university's existing newsroom - last upgraded in the 1960s - and allow more students to participate in the school's WOUB radio station and television programs.
Ailes majored in radio and television while at Ohio University and served two years as manager of the school's radio station. Since 1994 he has funded scholarships for Ohio University students in the school's telecommunications programs.
Ailes said, "Ohio University ignited my interest in broadcasting, which became my lifetime career. The education I received there gave me the opportunity to take on my first managerial responsibilities and provided early lessons in leadership. I'm happy to contribute to a great university."
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group
Fox Television Stations Group
Fox Television Stations, Inc. is a group of television stations located within the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation...
. Ailes was a media consultant for Republican presidents Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, and George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, as well as Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
’s first mayoral campaign in 1989.
Early life
Ailes was born and grew up in the factory town of Warren, OhioWarren, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 46,832 people, 19,288 households and 12,035 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,912.4 people per square mile . There were 21,279 housing units at an average density of 1,322.9 per square mile...
, the son of Donna Marie (née Cunningham) and Robert Eugene Ailes, a factory maintenance foreman. Ailes suffers from hemophilia and was often hospitalized as a youth. Ailes attended the Warren city schools. Later, he was inducted into Warren High School's Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. Ailes received a bachelor's degree in 1962 from Ohio University
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
in Athens, Ohio
Athens, Ohio
Athens is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Athens County, Ohio, United States. It is located along the Hocking River in the southeastern part of Ohio. A historic college town, Athens is home to Ohio University and is the principal city of the Athens, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area. ...
.
Early television
Ailes' career in television began in Cleveland and Philadelphia, where he started as property assistant (1962) producer (1965) and executive producer (1967–1968) for KYW-TVWKYC-TV
WKYC, virtual channel 3 , is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Cleveland, Ohio, owned by the Gannett Company. Its studio is located on the shores of Lake Erie, while its transmitter is located in Parma, Ohio....
, for a then-locally produced talk-variety show, The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that aired in syndication from 1961 to 1982, distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations.The program featured light banter with...
. He later became executive producer for the show, which was syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
nationally. He was nominated for, but failed to win a Daytime Emmy Awards for it in 1968. It was in this position, in 1967, that he had a spirited discussion about television in politics with one of the show's guests, Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, who took the view that television was a gimmick. Later, Nixon called on Ailes to serve as his executive producer of TV. Nixon's election victory was only Ailes's first venture into the political spotlight. His pioneering work in framing national campaign issues and making the stiff Nixon more likeable and accessible to voters was chronicled in The Selling of the President 1968 by Joe McGinniss
Joe McGinniss
Joe McGinniss is an American author of nonfiction and novels. He first came to prominence with the best-selling The Selling of the President, 1968 which described the marketing of then-presidential candidate Richard Nixon, and has authored 11 works since that time...
.
Other ventures
Ailes founded Ailes Communications, Inc., in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1969, and consulted for various businesses and politicians, including WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
. He also tried his hand in theater production with the Broadway musical Mother Earth (1972) and the Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
hit play Hot l Baltimore (1973–76). He was executive producer for the television special The Last Frontier in 1974. He produced and directed a television special, Fellini: Wizards, Clowns and Honest Liars.
Political consulting
Ailes served as a political consultant for many RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidates during the 1960s, 70s and 80s. His first such job was as media advisor for the Nixon campaign in 1968. He returned to presidential campaigning as a consultant to Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
in the latter stages of the 1984 campaign. He is widely credited with having helped coach Reagan to victory in the second presidential debate with Walter Mondale
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
, after aides Richard Darman
Richard Darman
Richard Gordon Darman , known as Dick Darman, was an American economist and businessman who served under five U.S. presidents but is best remembered as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget during the administration of George H. W...
and David Stockman
David Stockman
David Alan Stockman is a former U.S. politician and businessman, serving as a Republican U.S. Representative from the state of Michigan and as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget ....
bungled preparations for the disastrous first debate.
In 1987 and 1988, Ailes was credited (along with Lee Atwater
Lee Atwater
Harvey LeRoy "Lee" Atwater was an American political consultant and strategist to the Republican Party. He was an advisor of U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and Chairman of the Republican National Committee.-Childhood and early life:...
) with guiding George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
to victory in the Republican primaries, and the later come-from-behind victory over Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
. Ailes scripted and (with Sig Rogich
Sig Rogich
Sigmund “Sig” Rogich is an Icelandic/American businessman and was a senior media consultant to leading Republican candidates for office, under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush...
) produced the "Revolving Door"
Revolving Door (television advertisement)
"Revolving Door" is a famous negative television commercial made for the 1988 United States Presidential Campaign. Along with the Willie Horton "Weekend Passes" advertisement, it is considered to be a prime factor in George H.W. Bush's defeat of Michael Dukakis The ad was produced by political...
ad, as well as all of Bush's broadcast spots in the primary and general-election campaigns.
Ailes denies producing the so-called Willie Horton
Willie Horton
William R. "Willie" Horton is an American convicted felon who, while serving a life sentence for murder, without the possibility of parole, was the beneficiary of a Massachusetts weekend furlough program...
ad, which showed the face of the convicted rapist furloughed by Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
. The ad was sponsored and funded by the independent-expenditure group National Security Political Action Committee (NSPAC), but the Democrats later charged the Bush campaign with illegally coordinating the ad with the NSPAC. The Federal Election Commission
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
(FEC) investigated the charge, but deadlocked on a 3-3 vote, essentially clearing Ailes and the campaign of any legal wrong-doing. Reliable sources credit Floyd Brown
Floyd Brown
Floyd Gregory Brown is an American author, speaker and media commentator. He is president of Excellentia Inc., a consulting company specializing in non-profit organizational strategy, development and marketing. Brown has also worked as a political consultant and conducted opposition research for...
with creating the ad.
Ailes also came up with the "orchestra pit theory" regarding sensationalist political coverage in the news media, with the question:
Ailes's last campaign was the unsuccessful effort of Richard Thornburgh for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania in November 1991. He announced his withdrawal from political consulting in 1992. Though he aided with behind-the-scenes speechwriting and coaching for both President and Mrs. Bush at the GOP Convention in Houston, Ailes did not work on the unsuccessful 1992 Bush campaign against Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
Ailes's TV ads for the 1988 Bush campaign were extensively examined in the award-winning documentary film Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story is a 2008 U.S. documentary on the campaign tactics used by Lee Atwater while working on the George H.W. Bush 1988 presidential campaign, and how those tactics have transformed presidential campaigns in the United States....
.
Days after the 9/11 attacks, Ailes gave President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
political advice indicating that the American public would be patient as long as they were convinced that Bush was using the harshest measures possible. The correspondence was revealed in Bob Woodward
Bob Woodward
Robert Upshur Woodward is an American investigative journalist and non-fiction author. He has worked for The Washington Post since 1971 as a reporter, and is currently an associate editor of the Post....
's book Bush At War
Bush at War
Bush at War is a 2002 book by Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward recounting President George W. Bush's responses to the September 11 attacks and his administration's handling of the subsequent War in Afghanistan...
. Ailes lashed out against Woodward, saying "Woodward got it all screwed up, as usual," and "The reason he's not as rich as Tom Clancy is that while he and Clancy both make stuff up, Clancy does his research first." Ailes refused to release a copy of the memo he sent to the President.
Later television
In 1984, Ailes helped produce a television special, Television and the Presidency. This documentary was later expanded into a multi-part series on Fox News ChannelFox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, first aired in 2000.
In 1988, Ailes wrote a book with long-time aide Jon Kraushar, called You Are the Message: Secrets of the Master Communicators, in which he discusses some of his philosophies and strategies for successful performance in the public eye.
In 1991, Ailes convinced a syndicator to bring Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
from radio to television and became executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
of the late-night show. The show debuted in 1992 and was eventually discontinued in 1996. The pilot and series were produced with Richard Mincer, Maria Bianco (Dorfner), Kathleen Gleason and Nick Africano out of Unitel Studios on W. 57th Street in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
In 1993, Ailes became president of the cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
channel CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
and began planning another NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
cable channel, America's Talking
America's Talking
America's Talking, a cable television channel created by NBC and spun off from CNBC, was launched on July 4, 1994. The headquarters were based in an office building in Fort Lee, New Jersey, 2 floors below CNBC's original studios, on Fletcher Avenue...
. The new channel debuted on July 4, 1994. Ailes also hosted his own nightly show, Straight Forward, an hour-long talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
.
Fox News
After the announcement of MicrosoftMicrosoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
and NBC's partnership to create an online and cable news outlet, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, taking the place of America's Talking, Ailes left the network in February 1996 and was hired by Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
to create Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
for News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
. In addition, eighty-nine additional employees of the NBC networks left with Ailes to help with the new channel's creation for launch, on October 7, 1996.
Chairman of Fox Television Stations
After the departure of Lachlan MurdochLachlan Murdoch
Lachlan Keith Murdoch is the eldest son of Australian-American media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his second wife Anna Torv. He resigned from his executive positions at News Corporation on 29 July 2005...
from News Corporation, Ailes was named Chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group
Fox Television Stations Group
Fox Television Stations, Inc. is a group of television stations located within the United States which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, part of News Corporation...
on August 15, 2005. Following his newest assignment, one of his first acts was canceling A Current Affair
A Current Affair (US TV series)
A Current Affair is an American television newsmagazine that aired in syndicated from July 1986 to 1996 before reappearing briefly in March 2005. The show was produced by 20th Century Fox, and long based at Fox's New York flagship WNYW.-Overview:...
in September 2005 and replacing it with a new Geraldo Rivera
Geraldo Rivera
Geraldo Rivera is an American attorney, journalist, author, reporter, and former talk show host...
show titled Geraldo at Large
Geraldo at Large
Geraldo at Large is a United States television newsmagazine, hosted by Fox News correspondent-at-large and former talk show host Geraldo Rivera.-History:...
, which debuted on Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
, 2005. Rivera's show drew about the same ratings as A Current Affair in January 2007. Ailes decided to cancel Geraldo at Large
Geraldo at Large
Geraldo at Large is a United States television newsmagazine, hosted by Fox News correspondent-at-large and former talk show host Geraldo Rivera.-History:...
to move Rivera back on Fox News Channel.
Ailes also hired former CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
executive Dennis Swanson in October 2005 to be president of the Fox Television Stations Group. Additionally, there have been changes in affiliates' news programs with the standardization of Fox News Channel-like graphics, redesigned studios, news-format changes, and the announcement of a new morning television show
Breakfast television
Breakfast television or morning show , is a type of infotainment television program, broadcast live in the morning...
called The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet
The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet
The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet is an American syndicated morning talk show. Produced by Fox, the show first aired on January 22, 2007 to a number of markets originally through Fox and MyNetworkTV, most in the Fox Television Stations Group...
to be produced by Fox News Channel.
He signed a new deal in November 2008 that keeps him at the network for another five years. Salary terms were not revealed although his current salary is a reported $5 million per year with bonuses and other compensation extra. His total compensation in 2009 was $23 million. In addition to heading Fox News, Ailes also chairs Fox Television Stations and Twentieth Television as well as MyNetwork TV and Fox Business Network
Fox Business Network
Fox Business Network is an American cable news and satellite news television channel that began broadcasting on October 15, 2007. It is owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation...
.
MyNetworkTV
Following the announcement of the UPNUPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
/WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
merger creating The CW network
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
, News Corporation announced the creation of MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
to provide an alternative network for its O&O UPN affiliates on February 22, 2006. Ailes only learned of UPN's demise 10 minutes before the official announcement. The network officially debuted on September 5, 2006, with a slate of telenovelas like Watch Over Me
Watch Over Me
Watch Over Me is an American Television series that debuted on December 6, 2006 on the television network MyNetworkTV. Twentieth Television produced 66 episodes to air weekdays. The limited-run serial is an adaptation of Argentine series Resistiré....
and Wicked Wicked Games
Wicked Wicked Games
Wicked Wicked Games is a telenovela that debuted on December 6, 2006 on the American television network MyNetworkTV. Twentieth Television produced 63 episodes to air weekdays. The limited-run serial was directed by Terry Cunningham, Dennis Dimster, P. David Ebersole, Jeff Hare and Jeremy Stanford. ...
, which received low ratings. The soap opera
MyNetworkTV telenovelas
The MyNetworkTV telenovelas were Fox Television's attempt to create a successful low-cost programming franchise by adapting Spanish-language telenovelas for U.S. viewers. While originally planned for syndication, the format became the original lineup of MyNetworkTV in 2006...
s were phased out after a few months, it now airs programming targeted to 13-to-45-year-old males.
Newspaper ownership
In the spring of 2008 Ailes bought a local newspaper in Cold Spring, New YorkCold Spring, New York
Cold Spring is a village located in the Town of Philipstown in Putnam County, New York. The population was 1,983 at the 2000 census. It borders the smaller village of Nelsonville...
, the town in which they own a weekend/summer mansion. Upon purchase, he appointed his wife, Elizabeth Tilson, as the editor-in-chief. The newspaper, the Putnam County News and Recorder, has a circulation of approximately 4,000.
Ailes also purchased the Putnam County Courier in April 2009.
Political speculation
According to PoliticoPolitico (newspaper)
The Politico is an American political journalism organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that distributes its content via television, the Internet, newspaper, and radio. Its coverage of Washington, D.C., includes the U.S. Congress, lobbying, media and the Presidency...
, friends of Ailes are encouraging him to make a run for the presidency in 2012. The story suggests that such talk is based on "more than mere speculation." Ailes has denied interest in a White House bid.
Holocaust insensitivity allegation
In January 2011 an open letter printed in the Wall Street Journal on the UN-designated Holocaust Remembrance Day from four hundred rabbis, including the leaders of all main branches of Judaism in the US, called on Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of News Corp, which owns the Fox Network, to censure Roger Ailes as well as Fox News commentator Glenn Beck due to their use of the Holocaust to "discredit any individual or organisation [they] disagree with." Ailes called executives of the public radio network NPR "Nazis" for sacking a news analyst, Juan Williams, after Williams had made remarks considered by NPR to be offensive. Ailes apologised to a Jewish group for using the expression, although not to NPR. An executive at Fox News rejected the letter, calling it the work of a "George Soros-backed leftwing political organisation." Ailes has also dismissed Jewish critics, referring to them as nothing more than "left-wing rabbis."Obstruction of justice allegation
In February 2011, the New York Times reported that documents filed in a lawsuit state that Ailes urged former employee and current publisher Judith ReganJudith Regan
Judith Regan is an American editor, producer, book publisher and television and radio talk show host. She is the mother of a son and a daughter and lives in New York City and Los Angeles.-Early life:...
to lie to federal investigators regarding her affair with New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik
Bernard Kerik
Bernard Bailey "Bernie" Kerik is a former New York City Police Commissioner, Secretary of Homeland Security nominee, and now a federal felon. Kerik was New York City Police Commissioner from 2000 to 2001, under Mayor Rudy Giuliani. In December 2004, President George W. Bush nominated Kerik as...
, nominated for Department of Homeland Security Secretary. According to the documents, Regan alleges that Ailes wanted her to lie to protect Rudolph Giuliani who was in the early stages of a presidential campaign. The court documents also state that Regan taped one of the conversations between Ailes and herself, where Ailes discusses her relationship with Kerik.
Two days later, commentator Barry Ritholtz revealed Ailes had canceled a New York City benefit the next month thrown by a prominent Republican, over the possibility of being indicted.
Personal life
Ailes left his first wife, who was his college sweetheart, to work on the Nixon campaign. Ailes' second marriage was to Norma E. Ailes, who had been a television producer with Mission Media Ministries. The two raised one child, a daughter from Norma Ailes' earlier relationship, Shawn C. Ailes Visco Ferrer (born July 1968), now a television producer.In July 1997, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as...
reported that Ailes was engaged to Elizabeth Tilson (born December 1960), whom he married on February 14, 1998. Formerly a television executive, she is now a homemaker
Homemaker
Homemaking is a mainly American term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping or household management...
and titular publisher of The Putnam County News and Recorder. They have one son.
Ailes is a longtime friend of journalist and media personality Barbara Walters
Barbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...
.
Ohio University
In October 2007, Ailes gave a sizeable donation to Ohio UniversityOhio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
for a renovated student newsroom. The new facility will double the size of the university's existing newsroom - last upgraded in the 1960s - and allow more students to participate in the school's WOUB radio station and television programs.
Ailes majored in radio and television while at Ohio University and served two years as manager of the school's radio station. Since 1994 he has funded scholarships for Ohio University students in the school's telecommunications programs.
Ailes said, "Ohio University ignited my interest in broadcasting, which became my lifetime career. The education I received there gave me the opportunity to take on my first managerial responsibilities and provided early lessons in leadership. I'm happy to contribute to a great university."
External links
- RogerAiles.com
- Profile at the Museum of Broadcast CommunicationsMuseum of Broadcast CommunicationsThe Museum of Broadcast Communications is an American museum that currently exists exclusively on the Internet and not in any physical capacity. Its stated mission is "to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform and entertain...
- Campaign contributions from NewsMeat
- Conversation with Roger Ailes from The Kalb ReportMarvin KalbMarvin L. Kalb is an American journalist. Kalb was the Shorenstein Center's Founding Director and Edward R. Murrow Professor of Press and Public Policy . The Shorenstein Center and the Kennedy School are part of Harvard University...
, extended video interview about the rise of Fox News ChannelFox News ChannelFox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, his future goals at FOX News, and bias in the media (audio only), 2004-2005 series - Natural-Born Networker Thomas Hayden, US News & World Report, October 31, 2005, profile and Q&A
- How Roger Ailes Built the Fox News Fear Factory, Tim Dickinson, Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, May 25, 2011 - Missing Roger Ailes, Michael Wolff, AdweekAdweekAdweek is a weekly American advertising trade publication that was first published in 1978....
, June 6, 2011