Posted on 01/09/2010 1:54:41 PM PST by abb
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 Mr. Murdoch — and The New York Post endorsed John McCain.
In an interview in late December in his office at News Corporation headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, Mr. Ailes conceded that he had opposed an Obama endorsement. (“I didn’t think he had the experience,” he said, adding, “I don’t tell Rupert Murdoch who to endorse.”) He was outraged by the Vanity Fair article but said he “demanded nothing” and did not threaten to quit. He said he did not have to.
“If you’re making money and you’ve hit your targets for five years, you don’t need to demand a new contract,” he said.
Mr. Ailes is certainly making money. At a time when the broadcast networks are struggling with diminishing audiences and profits in news, he has built Fox News into the profit engine of the News Corporation. Fox News is believed to make more money than CNN, MSNBC and the evening newscasts of NBC, ABC and CBS combined. The division is on track to achieve $700 million in operating profit this year, according to analyst estimates that Mr. Ailes does not dispute.
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(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Beck also has to has security for his family and he packs - many threats.
Sad and frightening commentary about who is running this society.
A lot more people are packing. My son wants me to buy a gun, but I don’t even know where to begin. Dad used to have a shot gun, but it was stolen, I think I’d rather have a hand gun....What do you have?
Remarkable article. It’s frightening that so many members of the Murdoch clan hate Ailes. I don’t think Rupert likes Fox to be that conservative, either, but at least he understands where the money is. When Murdoch dies, that may be the end of Fox News, unless he leaves it in the right hands. He had hoped to groom his kids for the job, but (as so often happens) they are clearly not suited for it.
On the whole, the article is fair, although it leads off with a false story that is later dismissed by Ailes. At least they had the grace to print the denial. But of course they know that many readers only see the lead paragraphs.
Yeah they should be happy Roger making all this dough for them not badmouth him
It like movie Casino bosses liking Sam Ronbstein because they know to stay out of his way he make money for them
Yeah they are like King of dinosaur killers
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