Roger Ailes has resigned from Fox News, the 21st Century Fox division he ran for 20 years, amid charges of sexual harassment. The company announced Thursday that Rupert Murdoch would assume the role of chairman and acting chief executive of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network.
Murdoch, executive co-chairman of 21st Century Fox, said in a statement:
“Roger Ailes has made a remarkable contribution to our company and our country. Roger shared my vision of a great and independent television organization and executed it brilliantly over 20 great years. Fox News has given voice to those who were ignored by the traditional networks and has been one of the great commercial success stories of modern media.”
Ailes, 76, who built Fox into the most influential force in the news media over the last two decades, has been uncomfortably thrust into the spotlight since former anchor Gretchen Carlson alleged that her contract was not renewed after she spurned sexual advances by Ailes.
Since the allegations by Carlson became public, reports have emerged of several other women who have worked with Ailes in the past also saying that he sought sexual favors in return for employment. Ailes has denied those incidents as well. But the reports hurt the executive’s standing.
Murdoch added, “It is always difficult to create a channel or a publication from the ground up and against seemingly entrenched monopolies. To lead a flourishing news channel, and to build Fox Business, Roger has defied the odds. His grasp of policy and his ability to make profoundly important issues accessible to a broader audience stand in stark contrast to the self-serving elitism that characterizes far too much of the media.”
In the statement, Murdoch said he was committed to making sure Fox News “remains a distinctive, powerful voice.”
