Roger Ailes resigns as CEO of Fox News

The person said Fox News’ parent company, 21st Century Fox, had learned Ailes was trying to get some of his on-air stars to criticise those who cooperated with investigators looking into accusations of sexual harassment against him. If the breakneck undoing of Ailes at Fox News had a defining moment as it played out in the most fevered week in Manhattan media in recent memory, it came Tuesday afternoon in the throwback confines of the Drudge Report.

At 21st Century Fox, which also includes a major Hollywood studio and television network, Rupert Murdoch had taken the role of executive chairman with his son Lachlan, and with James Murdoch as CEO.

Once Roger Ailes resigned from Fox News, we couldn’t help but wonder what the talented and courageous Gretchen Carlson had planned for herself. Ailes has denied the claims and did not comment on his resignation.

“I am personally committed to ensuring that Fox News remains a distinctive, powerful voice. Our nation needs a robust Fox News to resonate from every corner of the country”, said Murdoch.

Existing management team Bill Shine, Jay Wallace and Mark Kranz will assist media magnate Murdoch, the company said.

In a statement, 21st Century Fox said that Ailes, 76, is now still an employee.

Though former presidential candidate Ted Cruz accused Ailes of turning Fox News into the Donald Trump network, 24/7 Trump himself has on a number of occasions spurned the network with open contempt – which means that for once, the network is not an indispensable part of a Republican nominee’s election strategy.

Murdoch, who built his father’s Australian newspaper business into one of the world’s most powerful news and entertainment conglomerates, has always been fiercely loyal to Ailes and cut his vacation short in the French Riviera with his wife Jerry Hall to handle the resignation.

Under his leadership, Fox became home to key conservative political commentators, drawing an audience distinct from rivals CNN and MSNBC. The deal is also said to have a standard no-compete clause.

The resignation which is effective immediately came two weeks after ousted Fox News host, Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit, alleging Ailes harassed her. After the lawsuit became public, several other women came forward with similar stories. USA Today reported that Carlson believed Ailes went so far as to sabotage her career. “The most important thing for Roger is that Fox News continues to be the No. 1 cable network”. Murdoch’s statement made no mention of the recent allegations against Ailes. The daytime show “Outnumbered” is a classic Ailes concept: four women in dresses, their legs prominently displayed, debating issues with a single male panelist.

“There’s a lot of concern in professional media circles that Fox (News) is going to disintegrate because it has an old audience”, Jeffrey M. McCall, professor of communication, tells the Associated Press. David Bauder writes that heavyweight hosts Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity (no strangers to controversy themselves) have close ties to Ailes and reportedly have contract stipulations which allow them to leave should their boss do so.

A potentially bigger problem, however, is that O’Reilly and Megyn Kelly’s contracts expire next year, with O’Reilly on the record as having expressed a desire to retire at some point, and the ambitious Kelly looking for a higher profile gig, which Fox may or may not be willing or able to give her.