Fox News’ Roger Ailes: Most powerful guy in the country?

Is Roger Ailes more powerful than Rupert Murdoch? We know that’s a controversial statement, but hear us out. The Fox News chief not only made more money than Murdoch himself last year (and put up the kind of numbers that made him deserve the paycheck), but the level of influence the guy wields arguably has a wider reach in politics. It’s something that’s directly affected elections and regularly pushes the news cycle forward. And it makes some members of the Murdoch family (who aren’t Rupert) uncomfortable.

Regardless of whether you like what he is doing, Roger Ailes is one of the most creative talents of his generation. He has built a media empire that is capable of driving the conversation, and, at times, the political process.
CNN political analyst David Gergen • Regarding the influence of Roger Ailes, who runs Fox News and has since 1996. Ailes got his start with the Nixon campaign and often brings that sort of political experience to the channel, controlling the conversation with pinpoint focus. source

Don’t sell TV short Back in 1967, Ailes, then a producer on “The Mike Douglas Show,” bluntly told Richard Nixon that television wasn’t a gimmick and he needed to focus on it. His hardnosed response led to a role in the administration, the role of which was played up in the book “The Selling of the President 1968.” source
Willie Horton, superstar Ailes is largely responsible for turning convicted murderer Willie Horton into a household name during the 1988 presidential election. Horton was released from prison in Massachusetts on Michael Dukakis’ dime, and Horton’s face dominated TV during the era. It also helped to ensure a George H. W. Bush victory. source
America’s Talking Before the consultant started Fox News, Ailes conceived the talk-show-focused MSNBC precursor America’s Talking, which had a cult following (and led to the success of Chris Matthews) but ultimately faltered. In 2009, Fox started using the “America’s Talking” tagline. How ironic. It’s almost like a dart in NBC’s eye. source

eight the number of consecutive years the network has led the cable news ratings roost
16% increase in 2009’s ratings Fox News had over 2008; crazy part – it wasn’t even an election year
96% increase in Glenn Beck’s ratings after moving to Fox News from Headline News in 2009 source

$700 million the amount Fox News makes in profit for News Corp. yearly – more than all the other major TV news outlets combined
$23
million the amount Fox News head Roger Ailes made last year – which is more than Rupert Murdoch, his boss made last year source

Too much influence? Some of Rupert Murdoch’s own family members have questioned just how much influence the guy has in the News Corp. corporate food chain. “I am by no means alone within the family or the company in being ashamed and sickened by Roger Ailes’s horrendous and sustained disregard of the journalistic standards that News Corporation, its founder and every other global media business aspires to,” said Matthew Freud, who’s married to Murdoch’s daughter Elisabeth. source

Friends have suggested he run in 2012. Ailes has influence and knowledge so strong that he could realistically have a shot if he took his political knowledge to the polls. “I have known Roger Ailes for 29 years,” says well-known Republican pollster Frank Luntz. “No one knows how to win better than Roger.” Ailes denies such claims, but the option’s always open just in case. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • Permalink

Posted on January 9, 2010 | tags