Roger Ailes has resigned as chairman and chief executive of Fox News.
NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES:
Roger Ailes, who built Fox News Channel into a money-making ratings powerhouse, has resigned as chairman and chief executive following allegations of sexual harassment, an exit that marks a swift end to his long leadership of the influential cable news channel that he launched two decades ago.
Rupert Murdoch, 85, the executive chairman of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc, the parent of Fox News, will assume the role of chairman and acting CEO of Fox News and Fox Business Network, the company said on Thursday.
Ailes, who will serve as an informal adviser to Rupert Murdoch and no longer have an official role at the company, will receive a severance package of about $40 million, according to a source familiar with the situation, who asked to remain anonymous.
In his resignation letter to Murdoch, Ailes did not indicate he had done anything wrong.
"I take particular pride in the role that I have played advancing the careers of the many women I have promoted to executive and on-air positions," Ailes wrote in the letter, which his lawyer Susan Estrich provided to Reuters.
However, he added: "I will not allow my presence to become a distraction from the work that must be done every day to ensure that Fox News and Fox Business continue to lead our industry."
The resignation marks a swift downfall for Ailes, the 76-year-old media executive who advised several US Republican presidents, including George HW Bush, and turned Fox News into the most-watched US cable news channel.
His departure comes on the final and biggest night of the Republican National Convention, where Donald Trump will formally accept the Republican presidential nomination.
Trump tweeted on Thursday, "Roger Ailes just called. He is a great guy & assures me that 'Trump' will be treated fairly on @FoxNews. His word is always good!"
Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson sued Ailes earlier this month, claiming sexual harassment. Ailes has denied the charges.
Fox hired a law firm to conduct an internal investigation.
New York magazine followed up with reports of other women who said they had been harassed by Ailes as far back as the 1960s. On Tuesday, the magazine said that popular Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly had told investigators hired by Fox that Ailes "made unwanted sexual advances toward her" about 10 years ago.
Ailes, who founded the cable channel in 1996, did not sexually harass Kelly, according to a statement attributed to his lawyer in the New York Times on Tuesday. His lawyers did not respond to questions from Reuters.
The resignation comes as Fox News, known for a lineup of politically conservative commentators including best-selling author Bill O'Reilly, is drawing record viewership. The network is the most-watched channel in all of basic cable television this year with an average of 2.2 million prime-time viewers, according to Nielsen data through June.
Ailes' long experience as both a television producer and a Republican strategist helped him to formulate a winning strategy: hire charismatic talent to appeal to a conservative audience.
Critics said Ailes pushed a Republican agenda under the oft-repeated slogan "Fair and Balanced." His fans said he smartly recognised that conservative TV viewers were not seeing their viewpoints reflected on Time Warner Inc's CNN or major broadcast networks. Fox News Channel went on the air in 1996, just before Bill Clinton was elected to a second term, with Ailes as founding CEO.
While Ailes' departure may not come at an ideal time for Fox News, the momentum of record ratings amid the most sensational US presidential election in decades may give the cable network some breathing room to recover, media buyers and Wall Street analysts have told Reuters. And some of them say this could be an opportunity for Fox News, whose median age of viewers is over 65, to focus on getting younger fans.
"Roger Ailes has made a remarkable contribution to our company and our country," Murdoch said in a statement. "Roger shared my vision of a great and independent television organization and executed it brilliantly over 20 great years."
Rupert Murdoch, 85, the executive chairman of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc, the parent of Fox News, will assume the role of chairman and acting CEO of Fox News and Fox Business Network, the company said on Thursday.
Ailes, who will serve as an informal adviser to Rupert Murdoch and no longer have an official role at the company, will receive a severance package of about $40 million, according to a source familiar with the situation, who asked to remain anonymous.
In his resignation letter to Murdoch, Ailes did not indicate he had done anything wrong.
"I take particular pride in the role that I have played advancing the careers of the many women I have promoted to executive and on-air positions," Ailes wrote in the letter, which his lawyer Susan Estrich provided to Reuters.
However, he added: "I will not allow my presence to become a distraction from the work that must be done every day to ensure that Fox News and Fox Business continue to lead our industry."
The resignation marks a swift downfall for Ailes, the 76-year-old media executive who advised several US Republican presidents, including George HW Bush, and turned Fox News into the most-watched US cable news channel.
His departure comes on the final and biggest night of the Republican National Convention, where Donald Trump will formally accept the Republican presidential nomination.
Trump tweeted on Thursday, "Roger Ailes just called. He is a great guy & assures me that 'Trump' will be treated fairly on @FoxNews. His word is always good!"
Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson sued Ailes earlier this month, claiming sexual harassment. Ailes has denied the charges.
Fox hired a law firm to conduct an internal investigation.
New York magazine followed up with reports of other women who said they had been harassed by Ailes as far back as the 1960s. On Tuesday, the magazine said that popular Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly had told investigators hired by Fox that Ailes "made unwanted sexual advances toward her" about 10 years ago.
Ailes, who founded the cable channel in 1996, did not sexually harass Kelly, according to a statement attributed to his lawyer in the New York Times on Tuesday. His lawyers did not respond to questions from Reuters.
The resignation comes as Fox News, known for a lineup of politically conservative commentators including best-selling author Bill O'Reilly, is drawing record viewership. The network is the most-watched channel in all of basic cable television this year with an average of 2.2 million prime-time viewers, according to Nielsen data through June.
Ailes' long experience as both a television producer and a Republican strategist helped him to formulate a winning strategy: hire charismatic talent to appeal to a conservative audience.
Critics said Ailes pushed a Republican agenda under the oft-repeated slogan "Fair and Balanced." His fans said he smartly recognised that conservative TV viewers were not seeing their viewpoints reflected on Time Warner Inc's CNN or major broadcast networks. Fox News Channel went on the air in 1996, just before Bill Clinton was elected to a second term, with Ailes as founding CEO.
While Ailes' departure may not come at an ideal time for Fox News, the momentum of record ratings amid the most sensational US presidential election in decades may give the cable network some breathing room to recover, media buyers and Wall Street analysts have told Reuters. And some of them say this could be an opportunity for Fox News, whose median age of viewers is over 65, to focus on getting younger fans.
"Roger Ailes has made a remarkable contribution to our company and our country," Murdoch said in a statement. "Roger shared my vision of a great and independent television organization and executed it brilliantly over 20 great years."
© Thomson Reuters 2016
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