By Pamela Pollack-Fremd
SPOKANE, Washington — Roger Ailes was an intelligent, complex, and perhaps conflicted human according to the documentary, Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes directed by Alexis Bloom and produced by Alex Gibney. From a young age his classmates in Warren, Ohio, his hometown, considered him to be witty and intelligent. His father worked as a factory foreman; he was a union man who hated unions. Although Ailes said that he loved and admired his father, he also told stories of incidents when he was young that can only be described as abusive behavior. In interviews of people who either knew or worked with him, Ailes was described as a bully and control freak. He was also a serial sexual predator, and finally, eventually that is what caused his downfall.
In 1965 in Philadelphia, Ailes began working as a production assistant on the Mike Douglas show, one of the first interview / entertainment shows on TV. He soon advanced to becoming a producer on the show. Alies began to immediately understand the power and influence of the media and TV in particular. He met Richard Nixon and told him that he absolutely needed a media advisor. Nixon, probably remembering his poor performance against John Kennedy in the televised debates, agreed. Ailes went from entertainment to begin his journey as kingmaker of presidents. He coached many conservative politicians both at the state and national level. He has also influenced Republican politics up until present day.
In 1993 Ailes switched back to entertainment and became president of CNBC, a new channel which eventually became MSNBC. He created “American Talking,” live twelve-hour talk TV. This channel and this program became very popular. Later many of the hosts he hired became regulars on Fox News. In 1996 Rupert Murdock asked Ailes to become the CEO of Fox News, a new 24-hour news channel. And the culture wars really began. Some who were interviewed said that Ailes was not interested in the news, rather he was interested in ratings.
Rumors of his sexual harassment behavior were only rumors for many years, but finally many women came forward. On July 20, 2016 he was locked out of the Fox News building and he resigned. Shortly after that he became an advisor to the Donald Trump campaign. On May 20, 2017 he died from an accidental fall.
Roger Ailes influence on politics continues. He was a man who really understood how to influence politics.
In San Diego, Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes opens Friday, Dec. 7, at the Landmark Ken Cinema, 4061 Adams Avenue.
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Fremd-Pollack is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the movies.