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[...] Ailes is the most successful executive in television,.... So it must have been disturbing to Ailes when the wheels started to come off .........Last summer, he’d invited Christie to dinner at his upstate compound along with Rush Limbaugh,....he fell hard for Christie, .......He still speaks almost daily with George H. W. Bush,... [...] “He thinks things are going in a bad direction,” another Republican close to Ailes told me. “.....He thinks the election of Obama is a disaster. He thinks Palin is an idiot..." [...] For Ailes, Tucson was a turning point,.... Ailes began to doubt Palin’s political...

<p>Before Sarah Palin posted her infamous “Blood Libel” video on Facebook on January 12, she placed a call to Fox News chairman Roger Ailes. In the wake of the Tucson massacre, Palin was fuming that the media was blaming her heated rhetoric for the actions of a madman that left six people dead and thirteen others injured, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.</p>

NEWS CORP ISSUES WEAK STATEMENT ON ROGER AILES: Judith Regan's New Story Is That Roger Ailes Did Not Tell Her To Lie Henry Blodget Feb. 27, 2011, 11:32 AM Now that there's a rumor going around that FOX boss Roger Ailes is going to be indicted for telling underling Judith Regan to lie to federal investigators, it makes sense to take a closer look at what News Corp. has said about the matter. When the New York Times broke the story last week that Judith Regan had accused Ailes of this--and had a recording of the telephone call to prove...

This is from Barry Ritholtz's blog: Here’s what I learned recently: Someone I spoke with claimed that Ailes was scheduled to speak at their event in March, but canceled. It appears that Roger’s people, ostensibly using a clause in his contract, said he “cannot appear for legal reasons.” I asked “What, precisely, does that mean?” The response: “Roger Ailes will be indicted — probably this week, maybe even Monday.” You read it here first . . .

It was an incendiary allegation — and a mystery of great intrigue in the media world: After the publishing powerhouse Judith Regan was fired by HarperCollins in 2006, she claimed that a senior executive at its parent company, News Corporation, had encouraged her to lie to federal investigators two years before. The investigators had been vetting Bernard B. Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner who had been nominated to become homeland security secretary and who had had an affair with Ms. Regan. The goal of the News Corporation executive, according to Ms. Regan, was to keep the affair...

Why Does Roger Ailes Hate America? An exclusive and unbiased investigation into the highly paid operative of a foreign-born tycoon, a man who reengineered political and media culture and fomented a revolt that threatens the very stability of our country By Tom Junod Today, here at Esquire — and only at Esquire, because only Esquire has the guts to tell you this story — we're going to tell you about a man you need to know a little better, maybe a lot better: a man named Roger Ailes. Maybe you've heard of Mr. Ailes. As the chairman and CEO of...

Fox News President Roger Ailes denounced attempts to tie Gabrielle Giffords shooting to Fox News and the right, but said he had told "our guys [to] shut up, tone it down, make your argument intellectually" in an interview with the hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons for Simmons's GlobalGrind.com. "He just was not attached to the Tea Party. It’s just a bullshit way to use the death of a little girl to get Fox News in an argument," Ailes said. "You know, they’re using this thing...apparently there was a map from one of Palin’s things that had her (Congresswoman Giffords) targeted district....

Part Two of Howard Kurtz’s interview with Fox News chief Roger Ailes is out today, and based on his frank and candid assessment of Jon Stewart, NPR and a defense of conservative bias, no one should ever call Mr. Ailes a shrinking violet. His provocative comments are sure to predictably raise eyebrows, but one could just as easily read the enlightening Q & A as a plain-spoken conversation in which one of the most powerful media figures of the day isn’t afraid to speak from the heart, and perhaps confirm what everyone already thinks about him. As usual, the the...

Who needs who more? Does Glenn Beck need Fox News or is it the other way around? Ailes, who declined to comment for this article, has generally been supportive of Beck. But he has also been vocal around the network about how Beck does not fully appreciate the degree to which Fox News has made him the sensation he has become in recent months. In the days following Beck’s Lincoln Memorial rally, which by Beck’s estimate drew a half-million people, Ailes told associates that if Beck were still at Headline News, there would have been 30 people on the Mall....

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Shepard Smith is the DARLING of DailyKos, TPM, ThinkProgress and Media Matters. Why? Because he is a hard left-wing news anchor on what is supposedly the "Right-Wing Network"--FoxNews. Moreover, Smith routinely bashes Republicans and gives Democrats a pass. Today was no different, as he blasted Republican chairman Michael Steele. But don't believe me...read what a Kos blogger had to say about the exchange. Then you might want to email Roger Ailes and let him know what you think of his "anchorman"...I've written more than once in praise of Shepherd Smith as the best newsperson on TV; today he proved it...

Fox News CEO Roger Ailes stopped by the D.C. bureau for an impromptu visit as he was in town for tonight’s Radio Television Correspondents Association Dinner. Sources tell Mediaite he talked about the success of the bureau and the network as a whole – but also addressed the recent Washington Post Glenn Beck profile. Sources present at the time tell us that Ailes said he was “very proud of this bureau” and “they used to come to us after the news event…now they come to us for the news event as well…I really just want to congratulate you and thank...

FOX NEWS Makes More Money Than CNN, MSNBC, And NBC-ABC-And-CBS News Combined Henry Blodget Jan. 9, 2010, 7:54 PM When Roger Ailes started FOX News in 1996, people said he'd have no chance against CNN. This year, FOX News will likely make $700 million of profit--more money than CNN, MSNBC and the evening newscasts of NBC, ABC and CBS combined. Ailes rules not only the news business but politics: If Ailes were a Democrat, James Carville says, the Democrats would control 67 seats in the Senate. David Carr and Tim Arango of the NYT provide a snapshot of News Corp's...

In the fall of 2008, Roger Ailes, the head of Fox News, went to his boss, Rupert Murdoch, with two complaints: he had heard that Mr. Murdoch was considering endorsing Barack Obama for president in The New York Post, and he had read a book excerpt in Vanity Fair suggesting that Mr. Murdoch was sometimes embarrassed by the right-leaning Fox News. Mr. Ailes threatened to quit, a person familiar with the conversation said. Instead, Mr. Murdoch soon rewarded him with a new, more lucrative contract — he made $23 million last year in salary, bonuses and other compensation, more than...

Geraldo Rivera has told Fox News honcho Roger Ailes he'll quit if Ailes hires Lou Dobbs, according to a well-placed source. Rivera, who has blasted the nativist Dobbs for his "slander" against Latinos, tells us, "I never threatened to quit." But he did let Ailes know he wouldn't welcome working with the man who has called him a "cowardly liar." Says Geraldo: "The last time I checked, no one here was talking to the a-—." Still, Ailes is said to be considering Dobbs for the Fox Business Channel. "The trouble is Dobbs wants too much money – like $8 million...

Before Glenn Beck started his new show on Fox News in January, he sat down with Roger Ailes, the network's chief executive, to make sure they were on the same page. "I wanted to meet with Roger and tell him, 'You may not want to put me on the air. I believe we are in dire trouble, and I will never shut up,' " said the conservative radio host. But before Beck could say anything, Ailes shared a message of his own: The country faced tough times, he said, and Fox News was one of the only news outlets willing...

Friends and associates are encouraging Fox News chief Roger Ailes to jump into the political arena for real by running for president in 2012, top sources tell POLITICO. "Ailes knows how to frame an issue better than anybody, and that's what we need now," says one Ailes friend who is encouraging the Fox founder, chairman and CEO to seek the Republican nomination to run against President Barack Obama. Ailes, 69, has an aggessive, winning personality that made Fox News a huge success — and a huge target for liberal critics. Frank Luntz, the well-known Republican pollster, said Ailes could be...

At a time of tension between their organizations, White House senior adviser David Axelrod met with Fox News chairman and chief executive officer Roger Ailes two weeks ago, sources tell POLITICO. The two met privately in Manhattan during the president’s visit to the United Nations. The two discussed news coverage and the relationship between the organizations. Ailes is the founder of Fox News. A key part of Axelrod’s portfolio is the president’s image and broad message. POLITICO has asked Fox for comment, and will update with reaction. White House officials have expressed pique with what they consider heavy coverage of...

"Video: Some things need to be defended..." Krauthammer: "....I've long thought that the Bush/Cheney administration will be treated by history like the Truman administration. But the one aspect of that I got wrong is the timing; whereas it took 50 years for Truman's work and genius to be acknowledged, we are only 5 months into the new era, and with every day and every action by this administration of adopting the wise policies that Bush/Cheney administration had adopted, even as it denounces them at the same time, the vindication of the last administration is strongly under way, and that in...

Roger Ailes has signed a new deal that keeps him at News Corp. for at least another five years. "I'm pleased to continue to work for News Corporation. It is a strong and extremely well positioned company. I look forward to carrying out Mr. Murdoch's legendary vision in the future," says Ailes in a press release. Ailes, 68, continues oversight of five News Corp. divisions including Fox News, Fox Business, Fox TV Stations, 20th Television and MyNetworkTV.