July 21, 2016

Roger Ailes Has Resigned from Fox News

It finally happened.

Roger Ailes in California. Reed Saxon/AP Photo

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Roger Ailes has resigned as the CEO of Fox News, according to a statement released today from 21st Century Fox. Rupert Murdoch will be assuming the role of chairman and acting CEO of Fox News and Fox Business.

The official announcement comes days after New York magazine writer Gabriel Sherman reported that Ailes was in talks with Fox to leave the company after an internal investigation. Ailes, 76, has been the subject of a sexual harassment and wrongful termination lawsuit brought on by former anchor Gretchen Carlson earlier in July. 

The 21st Century Fox statement makes no mention of its investigation into Ailes’s conduct, or whether he would be getting a buyout from the company.

“Roger Ailes has made a remarkable contribution to our company and our country,” Murdoch said in the statement. “Roger shared my vision of a great and independent television organization and executed it brilliantly over 20 great years.”

Since Carlson’s lawsuit, at least 20 other women have accused Ailes of sexual harassment, according to Carlson’s legal team. News anchor Megyn Kelly reportedly has also told investigators that she was harassed by Ailes. 

In a resignation letter to Murdoch posted by the Drudge Report, Ailes said that he was proud of his work in the company and also notes that he will continue working as an advisor for Fox: “I take particular pride in the role that I have played advancing the careers of the many women I have promoted to executive and on-air positions,” Ailes wrote. “Fox News has become Number 1 in all of cable because I consistently identified and promoted the most talented men and women in television, and they performed at the highest levels.”

“I am proud of our accomplishments and look forward to continuing to work with you as an adviser in building 21st Century Fox,” Ailes wrote. 

This is a breaking news post and will be updated as we receive more information. 

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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