Fox Business Network not Ailes’ idea

Alex Weprin of Capital New York reports on excerpts from Gabriel Sherman‘s biography of Fox News head Roger Ailes, including one about the founding of Fox Business Network in 2007.

Weprin writes:

Fox Business Network was not Ailes’ idea, and he was never fond of it, Sherman writes: “The Fox Business Network was also a ratings disappointment to some News Corp executives. Ailes had never wanted the channel in the first place. When Murdoch tapped Ailes to launch it in 2007, Ailes told the five executives hired to run the channel, ‘the world doesn’t need another business network.’ Because the boss had signaled his lack of enthusiasm, executives took concerted steps to undermine the spinoff’s success. ‘Welcome aboard. You’re set up for failure, Ailes’ loyalist Ken LaCorte told Ray Hennessey, the new director of business news, not long after he was hired. Neil Cavuto, who was named managing editor of the channel, followed Ailes’ lead. ‘Cavuto wasn’t involved,’ an executive said.

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