Roger Ailes is a powerful and influential figure in American media and politics. He is the founder and chairman of Fox News Channel, the most watched cable news channel in the United States.
He also served as a communications adviser to several presidents and Republican candidates, shaping their public image and campaign strategy.
He is known for his conservative views, controversial management style and ability to attract and retain loyal viewers and supporters.
He was also accused of sexual harassment and misconduct by multiple women who worked for or with him, leading to his resignation from Fox News in 2016.
File
- Full name: Roger Eugene Ailes
- Date of birth: May 15, 1940
- Age: 77 years old (at time of death)
- Gender: Male
- Place of birth: Warren, Ohio, United States
- Nationality: American
- Occupation: Television director and media consultant
- Height: 1.73 m
- Parents: Robert Eugene Ailes and Donna Marie Cunningham
- Siblings: One brother, Robert Ailes Jr.
- Spouse: Elizabeth Tilson (married 1998)
- Children: One son, Zachary Ailes
- Relationship status: Married until death
- Net worth: $100 million
Early life and education
Roger Ailes was born on May 15, 1940, in Warren, Ohio, a factory town in the Midwest. He was the son of Robert Eugene Ailes, a maintenance foreman at the Packard Electric plant, and Donna Marie Cunningham, a homemaker.
He has a younger brother, Robert Ailes Jr. He suffered from hemophilia, a blood disorder that prevents blood from clotting, and spent much of his childhood in hospitals.
He also endured physical and verbal abuse from his father, a strict and domineering father. He attended Warren City Schools and graduated from Warren G. Harding High School in 1958. He was inducted into the school’s Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in 2009.
Ailes attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, majoring in radio and television. He was the student radio station manager of WOUB for two years, gaining experience producing and directing various programs.
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1962 and began his career in television in Cleveland and Philadelphia.
Personal life
Roger Ailes was married three times in his life. His first wife was Marjorie White, whom he married in 1960 and divorced in 1977.
They had no children. His second wife was Norma Ferrer, whom he married in 1981 and divorced in 1995. They also had no children.
His third and final wife was Elizabeth Tilson, a former television executive and journalist, whom he married in 1998. They had a son, Zachary Ailes, born in 2000. They lived in Garrison, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, until Ailes’ death in 2017.
Ailes was a devout Catholic and regularly attended Mass. He was also a Republican and supported conservative causes and candidates.
He is friends with many famous political, media and business figures such as Rupert Murdoch, Donald Trump, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly.
He is also involved in a number of charitable and humanitarian activities, such as donating to the Hudson Valley Hospital Center, the Putnam County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the Philipstown Junior Baseball League.
Career
Roger Ailes’ television career spanned more than five decades and he was involved in many different aspects of the industry, such as production, management, and consulting.
He began his career as a production assistant for The Mike Douglas Show, a variety talk show based in Cleveland and later Philadelphia.
He became a producer for the show in 1965 and an executive producer in 1967. He won two Emmy Awards for his work on the show in 1967 and 1968.
He also met Richard Nixon, a guest on the show in 1967, and impressed him with his insights into television and politics.
Ailes left The Mike Douglas Show in 1968 to join Nixon’s presidential campaign as a media adviser. He helped Nixon improve his image and performance on television and devise strategies to appeal to voters.
He is considered a key factor in Nixon’s victory over Hubert Humphrey. His role in the campaign is chronicled in Joe McGinniss’s 1968 book The Selling of the President.
In 1969, Ailes founded the consulting firm Ailes Communications, which provided communications and public relations services to a variety of clients, such as corporations, celebrities, and politicians.
He also produced and directed several television and stage projects, such as the musical Mother Earth on Broadway and the play The Hot l Baltimore Off-Broadway.
He returned to political consulting in 1984, when he worked on Ronald Reagan’s re-election campaign. He helped Reagan prepare for debates and craft his message.
He also worked for George H. W. Bush’s 1988 campaign and played a key role in creating the infamous “Willie Horton” ad attacking Bush’s opponent, Michael Dukakis, for his criminal record.
He also advised other Republican candidates, such as Mitch McConnell, Dan Quayle, Rudy Giuliani and George W. Bush.
In 1993, Ailes left his political consulting job and became chairman of CNBC, a cable news channel owned by NBC.
He revamped the channel’s programming and ratings and launched a new channel, America’s Talking, which featured talk shows and interactive segments.
In 1996, he was hired by Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corporation, to create a new cable news network, Fox News Channel, to compete with CNN and MSNBC.
Ailes became chairman and CEO of Fox News and oversaw the company’s launch and growth. He hired and promoted conservative commentators and hosts, such as Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and Megyn Kelly.
He also established the channel’s slogan as “Fair and Balanced” and an editorial orientation that favored the Republican Party and criticized the Democratic Party and the mainstream media.
He turned Fox News into the nation’s most watched and profitable cable news network and a powerful force in American politics and culture.
Ailes also expanded his media empire by becoming chairman of Fox Television Stations, which owned and operated 28 local television stations nationwide, and 20th Television, which produced and distributed broadcast programming.
He also launched Fox Business Network, a rival to CNBC, in 2007 and Fox News Radio, a syndicated radio service, in 2003.
He has also published two books, You Are the Message: Secrets of the Master Communicators (1988), co-written with Jon Kraushar, and Off Camera: Private Thoughts Made Public (2001).
Prize
Roger Ailes has received many awards and honors for his work in television and media, such as:
- Two Emmy Awards for The Mike Douglas Show in 1967 and 1968
- Television Hall of Fame 2017
- Vanguard Award for Leadership Excellence from the National Cable and Telecommunications Association in 2004
- 2002 First Amendment Center Free Speech Award
- Digital Television News Association Paul White Award 2001
- Barbara Olson Award for Excellence and Independence in Journalism from The American Spectator in 2001
- Bradley Prize from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation 2013
Death
Roger Ailes died on May 18, 2017, at the age of 77, in Palm Beach, Florida.
A week earlier, he had fallen at home, causing a subdural hematoma, which was aggravated by his haemophilia.
He was pronounced dead at the hospital. He was cared for by his wife Elizabeth and son Zachary. He was buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.
Argumentative
Roger Ailes has been embroiled in a number of controversies and scandals throughout his career, primarily involving sexual harassment of women, political bias, and spreading misinformation.
Some of the most notable are:
In 2012, he was accused of ordering one of his employees, Judith Regan, to lie to federal investigators about her relationship with Bernard Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner who was nominated by President George W. Bush to be secretary of homeland security in 2004.
Regan published Kerik’s memoir, The Lost Son, in 2001 and had a secret relationship with him. Ailes allegedly wanted Regan to conceal the relationship to protect Kerik’s candidacy and Giuliani’s presidential aspirations, since Giuliani had appointed Kerik as sheriff in 2000.
Regan sued Ailes and News Corporation for wrongful termination, defamation, and harassment and received a $10.75 million settlement in 2008.
In 2014, he was accused of spying on his staff and critics, using a team of private investigators, security consultants and lawyers.
He is said to have installed a surveillance system at Fox News headquarters, monitored employees’ phone calls and emails, and hired people to investigate information detrimental to his enemies, such as journalists, activists, and politicians.
He was also accused of creating a “black room” operation where he directed smear campaigns and negative publicity against his opponents.
One of them is David Brock, founder of Media Matters for America, a liberal watchdog group critical of Fox News.
In 2016, he was accused of interfering with the editorial independence and journalistic integrity of Fox News by promoting a pro-Trump agenda and suppressing negative stories about Trump and his associates.
He is said to have briefed Trump on questions in advance of the August 2015 Republican primary debate and advised Trump on how to deal with the media and the public.
He has also been accused of directing his hosts and reporters to avoid or downplay coverage of Trump scandals, such as the Access Hollywood tapes, the Russia investigation and the Stormy Daniels affair.
Social media
- Twitter Username: None
- Instagram Name: None
Net worth
Roger Ailes had an estimated net worth of $100 million at his death.
He earns a $20 million annual salary as head of Fox News and has a stake in the channel.
