The Media

Fox News Chief Roger Ailes Given An Ultimatum [Updated]

Fox News boss Roger Ailes has reportedly been given a deadline of August 1st to resign from his position or be fired by the Murdochs in charge of 21st Century Fox.

via Media Matters

21st Century Fox has hired the law firm Paul, Weiss to investigate the allegations. Yesterday, [New York magazine’s Gabriel Sherman ] reported that his sources say Rupert Murdoch and his sons Lachlan and James, the company’s leaders, had decided to give him the choice to resign or be fired. Today, Sherman reports that the deadline for that offer is August 1, and that it is in part triggered by allegations from Fox anchor Megyn Kelly that Ailes had sexually harassed her as well.

What was the final straw?

We may never know, but it appears that an accusation made by Fox News host Megyn Kelly against Roger Ailes may have been it. Kelly may be the network's most well known and visible female host.

It's unfortunate that it took former Fox & Friends host Gretchen Carlson's lawsuit against Roger Ailes for the Murdochs to take the problem seriously. Accusations against Roger Ailes go back literally decades and personally I find it very hard to believe that his actions stopped at just harassment. High profile employees like Carlson and Kelly may have been able to deflect sexual advances made by their boss, but what about lower level employees with less clout and less name recognition? Is Roger Ailes a rapist?

I've seen some speculation that this could be a turning point for Fox News as it was Roger Ailes who dictated the entire network's coverage of current events, but that feels naive to me.

This could be a turning point for the better, but it's also possible the Murdochs will choose a successor who is even worse than Ailes. If the rumored Trump News Channel becomes a reality, Fox may face pressure to corner the market on Trumpism before Trump himself has a chance to.

Update... minutes before this post was set to go up, Drudge reported that Roger Ailes has officially departed Fox News with a golden parachute worth over $40 million