Roger Ailes
Television executive and media consultant who shaped conservative media and advised Republican presidents.
Roger Eugene Ailes (May 15, 1940 – May 18, 2017) ran Fox News and its related TV stations for years, shaping conservative media and advising Republican presidents. He started in TV production, winning Emmys for *The Mike Douglas Show*, then moved into politics, coaching Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush on media strategy. His career ended in July 2016 when he left Fox News after multiple women, including anchors Gretchen Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and Andrea Tantaros, accused him of sexual harassment. Ailes was born with hemophilia, a blood-clotting disorder, and died at 77 from a subdural hematoma worsened by that condition. He remains a divisive figure—praised for his influence on the conservative movement and presidents, but condemned for fostering a misogynistic workplace and facing decades of harassment claims.
Growing up in Warren, Ohio, a factory town, Ailes had a tough childhood. His father was an authoritarian who could be physically and verbally abusive; his mother, worried about his hemophilia, showed affection only rarely. His parents divorced in 1960, and when he came home from college for Christmas, they told him to stay elsewhere. He graduated from Ohio University in 1962, where he ran the student radio station and studied radio and TV.
His TV career began in Cleveland and Philadelphia at KYW-TV, working his way up from production assistant to executive producer on *The Mike Douglas Show*. In 1967, a debate with guest Richard Nixon about TV’s role in politics led Nixon to hire him as his TV producer for the 1968 campaign. That work, chronicled in *The Selling of the President 1968*, made Ailes a political consultant. He later helped reelect Ronald Reagan in 1984 and guided George H. W. Bush through the 1988 primaries and general election. He coined the “Orchestra Pit Theory”—that a candidate falling into an orchestra pit gets more news coverage than one solving the Middle East—and quit political consulting after Richard Thornburgh’s failed 1991 Senate run. After 9/11, he advised President George W. Bush that the public would stay patient if they believed Bush was using the harshest measures; Bob Woodward’s book *Bush at War* revealed this, but Ailes denied the account, saying Woodward “got it all screwed up.”
Ailes wrote two books with aide Jon Kraushar: *You Are the Message: Secrets of the Master Communicators* (1988) and a 1989 version subtitled *Getting What You Want by Being Who You Are*. He returned to TV in 1993 as president of CNBC, launching America’s Talking, which later became MSNBC. He hosted an interview show there. In 1995, NBC investigated him after he allegedly called executive David Zaslav a “little fucking Jew prick,” though that wasn’t confirmed as his reason for leaving.
Rupert Murdoch hired Ailes in 1996 to run Fox News. By 2005, he also chaired Fox Television Stations, where he canceled *A Current Affair* and replaced it with Geraldo Rivera’s *Geraldo at Large*. He brought in former Viacom executive Dennis Swanson to run the stations and standardized their news graphics to match Fox News.
- born
- May 15, 1940
- died
- May 18, 2017
- field
- Television executive, media consultant
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Chairman and CEO of Fox News, media consultant for Republican presidents
Lore & Background
Ailes was born and grew up in Warren, Ohio, to Donna Marie (née Cunningham) and Robert Eugene Ailes. He had hemophilia and was often hospitalized as a youth. He attended Warren city schools and later was inducted into Warren G. Harding High School's Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. Actor and playwright Austin Pendleton was a childhood friend. His father was authoritarian and often abusive; his mother feared his hemophilia and was only occasionally physically affectionate. His parents divorced in 1960. In 1962, Ailes graduated from Ohio University, where he majored in radio and television and served as student station manager for WOUB.
Reader's Guide
Ailes's career began in Cleveland and Philadelphia at KYW-TV, working on The Mike Douglas Show as production assistant (1961), producer (1965), and executive producer (1967–68). He won Emmy Awards for the show in 1967 and 1968. In 1967, he discussed television in politics with Richard Nixon, later serving as Nixon's Executive Producer for television. He worked for Television News Inc. from January to September 1975. He worked on Ronald Reagan's 1984 reelection campaign and, with Lee Atwater, guided George H. W. Bush to victory in 1987–88. He originated the 'Orchestra Pit Theory' about sensationalist political coverage. His last campaign was Richard Thornburgh's unsuccessful 1991 U.S. Senate run in Pennsylvania. After 9/11, he advised President George W. Bush. He wrote two books with Jon Kraushar: You Are the Message (1988 and 1989). In 1993, he became president of CNBC and created America's Talking channel. In 1995, an internal investigation followed an alleged slur against NBC executive David Zaslav. He was hired by Rupert Murdoch in 1996 to become CEO of Fox News. In 2005, he was named Chairman of Fox Television Stations Group, canceling A Current Affair and replacing it with Geraldo at Large. He hired Dennis Swanson in 2005. In 2011, he was criticized for referring to NPR executives as 'Nazis' and apologized to the Anti-Defamation League. His contract was renewed in 2012 through 2016. He also chaired 20th Television, MyNetworkTV, and Fox Business Network.
Did You Know?
- Ailes had hemophilia and died from a subdural hematoma aggravated by that condition.
- He won Emmy Awards for The Mike Douglas Show in 1967 and 1968.
- His book You Are the Message was published in two editions, 1988 and 1989.
- He created the America's Talking channel, which later became MSNBC.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"People don’t want to be informed, they want to feel informed." — Roger Ailes "I often tell my clients they should do at least 30 percent of all their reading outside their own field. This will give them perspective and knowledge that will make them more interesting." — Roger Ailes "I want to see her legs. [..] I want the viewers to see their legs. I want people to watch Fox News even if the sound is turned down." — Roger Ailes "In September 2016, The Washington Post reported Gretchen Carlson was to receive $20 million damages in her sexual harassment suit against Ailes and Fox News." — Roger Ailes
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