Roger Ailes, the 76-year-old chairman of Fox News, is negotiating an exit from the company, part of 21st Century Fox, less than a month after being hit with a sexual harassment lawsuit by former Fox anchor Gretchen Carlson.
John Koblin and Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times had the news:
Mr. Ailes and 21st Century Fox, Fox News’s parent company, are in the advanced stages of discussions that would lead to his departure as chairman, Susan Estrich, one of Mr. Ailes’s lawyers, said in an interview on Tuesday.
The development follows a sexual harassment suit filed July 6 against Mr. Ailes by a former anchor, Gretchen Carlson. The suit prompted 21st Century Fox to conduct an internal review.
Since then, Mr. Ailes’s future at Fox News has been the subject of intense speculation, which increased on Monday with a report from New York magazine that the executives leading 21st Century Fox — Rupert Murdoch and his sons, James and Lachlan — had determined that Mr. Ailes must go.
The sides continued negotiations on Tuesday on terms that could include Mr. Ailes’s staying on in a consulting role for Fox News. Ms. Estrich said nothing was finalized on what sort of continuing role he would have at the network.
“Roger is at work,” 21st Century Fox said in a statement. “The review is ongoing. And the only agreement that is in place is his existing employment agreement.”
Joe Flint of The Wall Street Journal noted that Ailes will likely be asked to aid with a leadership transition:
The controversy surrounding Fox News has been the biggest management test thus far for James and Lachlan Murdoch, who were elevated in the 21st Century Fox media empire last year. James serves as chief executive, while Lachlan and their father, Rupert Murdoch, are co-executive chairmen of the entertainment powerhouse. Rupert Murdoch also is executive chairman of News Corp.
The brothers have made their stamp on the business in various ways—carrying out buyouts to trim costs and restructuring the international channels business. But the claims by Ms. Carlson and the resulting frenzy in the media world have forced them to make a difficult calculation about Mr. Ailes’s future.
They can’t afford to have management turmoil at Fox News throw the business off course. The network provides about 20% of 21st Century Fox’s profit and is used by the company as a club in broader channel-carriage negotiations with pay-TV providers. Separately,Fox News on Tuesday sued Charter Communications Inc., alleging breach of contract.
Already, news of tension between the company and Mr. Ailes has become a major story during the GOP convention.
Gabriel Sherman of New York magazine reports that Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly told investigators he was harassed by Ailes:
According to two sources briefed on parent company 21st Century Fox’s outside probe of the Fox News executive, led by New York–based law firm Paul, Weiss, Kelly has told investigators that Ailes made unwanted sexual advances toward her about ten years ago when she was a young correspondent at Fox. Kelly, according to the sources, has described her harassment by Ailes in detail.
Kelly’s comments to investigators might explain why the Murdochs are moving so quickly to oust Ailes. As New York reported yesterday, Rupert and sons James and Lachlan, the three top executives at 21st Century Fox, have, according to multiple sources, decided that Ailes needs to be removed. Kelly, who has become something of a feminist icon thanks to her tangles with GOP nominee Donald Trump, is seen by many inside Fox as the future of the network. She’s currently in contract negotiations, and given that Bill O’Reilly has said he’s considering retirement, Fox can’t afford to lose her.
According to two sources, Monday afternoon lawyers for 21st Century Fox gave Ailes a deadline of August 1 to resign or face being fired for cause. Ailes’s legal team — which now includes Susan Estrich, former campaign manager for Michael Dukakis — has yet to respond to the offer. Ailes has also received advice on strategy from Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani, sources say.
Ailes’s strategy so far has included attacking Kelly in the press. According to sources, Ailes spokesperson Irena Briganti has been criticizing Kelly to reporters, saying she is selfish to not stand up for the man who gave her career opportunities. Roughly a dozen Fox women have praised Ailes since Carlson filed her suit. According to a Fox source, the pro-Ailes campaign has been led by Fox anchor Kimberly Guilfoyle, who has filled in hosting Carlson’s former 2 p.m. time slot.
