Ailes Era Ends, Murdoch Interim CEO For Fox News

(Reuters) --  Roger Ailes on Thursday resigned as chairman and chief executive of Fox News Channel following allegations of sexual harassment, an abrupt end to his 20-year rein over America's most lucrative and powerful cable news channel for conservatives.

Rupert Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch, 85, the executive chairman of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc, the parent of Fox News, will assume the role of CEO Fox News and Fox Business Network on an interim basis, the company said on Thursday.

Ailes, who will serve as an informal adviser to Rupert Murdoch and no longer have an official role at the company, will receive a severance package of about $40 million, according to a source familiar with the situation, who asked to remain anonymous.

In his resignation letter to Murdoch, Ailes did not indicate he had done anything wrong.

"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 in the letter, which his lawyer Susan Estrich provided to Reuters.

However, he added: "I will not allow my presence to become a distraction from the work that must be done every day to ensure that Fox News and Fox Business continue to lead our industry."

The fact that Rupert Murdoch himself has taken charge at Fox News is a sign of how much the company values what Roger Ailes built.

— Brit Hume (@brithume) July 21, 2016

The resignation marks a swift downfall for Ailes, the 76-year-old media executive who advised several U.S. Republican presidents, including George H.W. Bush, and turned Fox News into the most-watched U.S. cable news channel.


Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson sued Ailes earlier this month, claiming sexual harassment. Ailes has denied the charges. Fox hired a law firm to conduct an internal investigation.