By Judi McLeod ——Bio and Archives--July 22, 2016
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While most attention was on the captivating histrionics of the 2016 Republican National Convention, the progressives were taking over Fox News.
‘Ailes is out as Fox News head, Murdoch named acting chief’ (AP, July 21, 2016)
It all went down on July 21, 2016. What a coincidence!“Roger Ailes is out as chief executive at Fox News Channel, his career at the network he built from scratch and ran with an iron hand for nearly 20 years over with stunning swiftness following allegations that he forced out a former anchor after she spurned his sexual advances.” (AP) “Ailes will have no formal role in the company, but is expected to serve as an informal adviser to Murdoch, said a person familiar with the agreement who spoke on condition of anonymity because it is a personnel matter.”
“Network parent 21st Century Fox said Thursday that Rupert Murdoch, the company's executive chairman, would run Fox News and its sister Fox Business Network, which Ailes had also led, until a successor could be found. (AP) “Murdoch and 21st Century Fox did not address the widening scandal in the statement on the resignation but lauded Ailes for his contributions. Ailes did not comment in the statement, and no details were given on a settlement agreement. "I am personally committed to ensuring that Fox News remains a distinctive, powerful voice," Murdoch said. "Our nation needs a robust Fox News to resonate from every corner of the country." “Cutting short a vacation, the 85-year-old Murdoch addressed Fox News employees in New York on Thursday. Details were not given on the settlement agreement for a contract that was supposed to run through 2018, but Ailes is expected to get a payment of at least $40 million. “Fox is heading into a general election campaign in its customary spot at the top of the ratings, but without the man who sets its editorial tone every day. The announcement came on the day Donald Trump is to accept the GOP nomination for president, a speech likely to be watched by more people on Fox than any other network.” “Documentary filmmaker Robert Greenwald, who made 2004's "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism," said he hopes the younger Murdochs will take this moment to change the network's philosophy. "I certainly think that some of the hatred and anger and racism and fear that we're seeing in this election has clearly and absolutely been stoked and stroked by Fox News," he said. "Once he's gone, I hope the younger Murdochs will attempt to take an approach in which it does become a news outlet rather than a propaganda outlet."
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“While ratings are soaring in an election year, a newly aggressive CNN is making inroads among younger viewers that advertisers seek. Fox faces the challenge of trying to inject youth into an audience that is among the oldest in television, and viewership is expected to inevitably fall without the excitement of a campaign. (AP) “The network has also been remarkably stable, with personalities bonded from loyalty to Ailes. O'Reilly has recently mused about retirement, and he and Sean Hannity reportedly have contract provisions that would allow them to leave if Ailes does. Kelly's contract ends later this year and it would be a huge blow to the network if she left.”It doesn’t take conspiracy thinking to suspect that someone pushed the transition--or should it be called ‘transformation’ of Fox News over to Democrat control in the middle of a general election campaign. It just takes being in a wide awake state. Democrat presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton will never know the humiliation she had to overcome when she phoned in to Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly to comment on the Nice, France terrorist attack on July 14. One week later, on the same day when the RNC was wrapping up its Convention came the news confirming a major shakeup at Fox News. That’s quite a timeline. Now that Hillary Clinton will replace Donald J. Trump as the presidential candidate who dominates the news, will the #NeverTrump brigade be cheering instead of whining? Just to think that we all thought Senator Ted Cruz being booed off the Convention stage was the biggest news in Election 2016. There are some who noticed that Fox News was already progressively leaning further to the left. Meanwhile, it’s Goodbye ’Fair and Balanced’, ‘Hello Progressive Propaganda.’ Hang onto your seat because when Hillary’s out to regain lost power the agenda advances at breakneck speed. Having one cable network that sometimes leaned to the right was fun while it lasted.
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