The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News--And Divided a Country (86 page)

  
82.
Susan Estrich
Author interview with a person familiar with the matter.

  
83.
Peter Johnson Sr
. Gabriel Sherman, “Meet Roger Ailes’s Fox News Mouthpiece,”
New York
, Oct. 25, 2012.

  
84.
“He’s the talent”
Author interview with an executive involved in the negotiations with Judith Regan.

  
85.
“Susan acted as”
Author interview with a person involved in the negotiations.

  
86.
“It’s embarrassing”
Author interview with a person familiar with the matter.

  
87.
“I need to know”
Author interview with a person involved in the negotiations.

  
88.
On January 25
Patricia Hurtado and Gillian Wee, “News Corp. Settles Suit by Judith Regan over Firing,”
Bloomberg News
, Jan. 25, 2008. See also Bob Van Voris and Patricia Hurtado, “Regan Accused Lawyer Dreier of Disclosing Settlement,”
Bloomberg News
, Dec. 10, 2008.

  
89.
He dropped out
Michael Powell and Michael Cooper, “Resurgent McCain Is Florida Victor; Giuliani Far Back,”
New York Times
, Jan. 30, 2008.

  
90.
Years later
Author interview with Judith Regan.

  
91.
CNN’s prime-time audience
Molly Willow, “TV Ratings Upset,”
Columbus
(Ohio)
Dispatch
, Feb. 21, 2008. See also Anthony Crupi, “Turner Nets Defy Soft Market,”
Mediaweek
, Nov. 6, 2008.

  
92.
Wolf Blitzer
Paul J. Gough, “In ’08, Big Headlines for Everybody,”
Hollywood Reporter
, Dec. 31, 2008.

  
93.
In the fall
Gabriel Sherman, “Chasing Fox,”
New York
, Oct. 11, 2010.

  
94.
Griffin debuted a new tagline
Linda Moss, “MSNBC Votes to Boost Politics Coverage,”
Multichannel News
, Oct. 8, 2007.

  
95.
“Roger felt that as Obama emerged”
Author interview with a person close to Roger Ailes.

  
96.
The day after Clinton roared
David Bauder, “Chris Matthews Says He Wronged Clinton by Tying Her Success to Husband’s Infidelities,” Associated Press, Jan. 18, 2008.

  
97.
At Clinton campaign headquarters
Author interview with a former campaign staffer for Hillary Clinton.

  
98.
On the evening of February 7
Howard Kurtz, “Chelsea Remark Earns MSNBC Correspondent a Suspension,”
Washington Post
, Feb. 9, 2008.

  
99.
In early March
ABC News,
Nightline
(transcript), March 5, 2008.

100.
On March 19
John Cook, “The Anti-Obama Emails Roger Ailes Forwards to His Underlings,”
Gawker
, April 19, 2012,
http://gawker.com/5903082/the-anti+obama-emails-roger-ailes-forwards-to-his-underlings
.

101.
O’Reilly and Hannity did segments
The O’Reilly Factor
, Fox News Channel (transcript), March 19, 2008. See also
Hannity & Colmes
, Fox News Channel (transcript), March 19, 2008.

102.
Susan Estrich
Author interview with a person familiar with the situation.

103.
an attack by John Edwards
“Edwards Urges Fellow Democrats to Reject Murdoch’s Money,”
Washington Post
, Aug. 3, 2007.

104.
the company had paid Edwards
Nedra Pickler, “Murdoch’s News Corp. Says Edwards Benefited from Book Deal with the Media Company,”
Washington Post
, Aug. 3, 2007.

105.
In May
The O’Reilly Factor
, Fox News Channel (transcript), May 1, 2008.

106.
“She made some kind of compact”
Author interview with former White House communications director Anita Dunn.

107.
Another senior Obama
Author interview with a senior adviser to President Barack Obama.

108.
After clinching
Michael Wolff, “Tuesdays with Rupert,”
Vanity Fair
, Oct. 2008. See also Howard Kurtz, “Obama Met with News Executives,”
Washington Post
, Sept. 3, 2008; author interview with Stephen Rosenfield, who recounted Ailes’s description of the meeting.

109.
A few weeks later
Sherman, “The Elephant in the Green Room.”

110.
Ailes responded
CQ Transcripts, “Senator Barack Obama Delivers Remarks at a Campaign Event” (transcript), July 2, 2008.

111.
He later said
Sherman, “The Elephant in the Green Room.”

112.
“He doesn’t have the charisma”
Author interview with a former Fox News executive.

113.
In January
“New York Post Endorses Obama for President, Snubs Home-Town Senator,” Associated Press, Jan. 30, 2008.

114.
In a preview of
Wolff, “Tuesdays with Rupert.”

115.
“Is this true?”
Gabriel Sherman, “The Raging Septuagenarian,”
New York
, Feb. 28, 2010.

116.
Murdoch assured
Matea Gold, “Roger Ailes Extends Fox Deal,”
Los Angeles Times
, Nov. 21, 2008.

117.
“That was the beginning”
Author interview with an adviser to Rupert Murdoch.

118.
“As Ginsberg was blowing up”
Author interview with a former Fox executive.

119.
Any speculation
“Post Endorses John McCain,”
New York Post
, Sept. 8, 2008.

120.
Within the next year
Tim Arango, “An Adviser to Murdoch Is Leaving News Corp.,”
New York Times
, Nov. 17, 2009.

121.
“Roger took credit”
Author interview with a Fox News executive.

122.
“She hit a home run”
Author interview with a person familiar with the matter.

123.
During Palin’s speech
Anthony Crupi, “RNC Coverage Lifts Fox News Channel to Ratings Win,”
Mediaweek
, Sept. 9, 2008.

124.
He was intensely interested
Sherman, “The Elephant in the Green Room.”

125.
Ailes didn’t know Walshe
Author interview with a person familiar with the situation.

126.
He called Suzanne Scott
Author interview with a person familiar with the matter.

127.
Ratings for his CNN
Robyn-Denise Yourse, “Arts Etc.; Tuning in to TV,”
Washington Times
, Oct. 21, 2008. See also Brian Stelter, “For Conservative Radio, It’s a New Dawn, Too,”
New York Times
, Dec. 22, 2008.

128.
As they spoke
Author interview with a person familiar with the matter.

129.
Fox executives dubbed
Author interview with a person familiar with the matter.

130.
This was especially
Brian Stelter, “Fox’s Brit Hume to Stop Anchoring ‘Special Report’ After Election,” “Media Decoder” (blog),
New York Times
, July 15, 2008,
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/foxs-brit-hume-to-stop-anchoring-special-report-after-election/
.

131.
On Thursday, October 16
“Glenn Beck Joins Fox News” (press release), Business Wire, Oct. 16, 2008.

132.
In late September, McCain had suspended
Michael Cooper, “For the Nominees, New Roles and New Risks,”
New York Times
, Sept. 25, 2008.

133.
“He was so angry”
Author interview with a person familiar with the situation.

134.
Ailes told executives
Author interview with a person familiar with the matter.

135.
A few days before
Author interview with a person familiar with the matter.

    
1.
The week after Obama’s 2008 election
William K. Alcorn, “Fox News Chairman Ailes Comes Home, Discusses Obama’s Tasks,”
Youngstown
(Ohio)
News
, Nov. 11, 2008.

    
2.
It was unseasonably cold
http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/OH/Warren/2013-11-11
.

    
3.
The Aileses were in town
Author interview with Warren attorney Ned Gold. See also Alcorn, “Fox News Chairman Ailes Comes Home, Discusses Obama’s Tasks.”

    
4.
During one eighteen-day
Author interview with Michael O’Brien, former mayor of Warren, Ohio.

    
5.
The municipal government
Author interview with Mayor Michael O’Brien.

    
6.
They chatted for
Alcorn, “Fox News Chairman Ailes Comes Home, Discusses Obama’s Tasks.”

    
7.
“If you want a helping hand”
Larry Ringler, “Fox News Chief Returns to Warren,”
Warren
(Ohio)
Tribune Chronicle
, Nov. 11, 2008.

    
8.
He liked to tell
Website of the Ailes Apprentice Program,
Ailesapprentice.foxnews.com
.

    
9.
“If every company did this”
Chris Ariens, “Roger Ailes on His Apprentices and His Legacy,”
TVNewser
, Nov. 15, 2012.

  
10.
It was cold and damp
http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KYNG/2008/11/12/DailyHistory.html?req_city=Warren&req_state=OH&req_statename=Ohio
.

  
11.
Hundreds of people
Author interview with Ned Gold.

  
12.
“You see that fountain pool”
Author interviews with Warren residents who attended the dedication of the veterans memorial.

  
13.
He told the audience that
Alcorn, “Fox News Chairman Ailes Comes Home, Discusses Obama’s Tasks.”

  
14.
Webster’s life
Biography of Douglas Webster on website of A-4 Skyhawk Association,
http://a4skyhawk.org/?q=3e/va56/webster-memorial.htm
, accessed Nov. 15, 2013.

  
15.
Ailes went to
Alcorn, “Fox News Chairman Ailes Comes Home, Discusses Obama’s Tasks.”

  
16.
An hour later
Author interview with two Warren residents who were present at the country club lunch.

  
17.
“I grew up”
Junod, “Roger Ailes on Roger Ailes: The Interview Transcripts, Part 2.”

  
18.
Ailes told the Monsmans
Author interview with Chris and Danella Monsman.

  
19.
Three years later
Brenda J. Linert, “Tribune Plans Year of Anniversary Events,”
Warren
(Ohio)
Tribune Chronicle
, Oct. 16, 2011.

  
20.
“I left there in 1958”
Author conversation with Roger Ailes.

  
21.
“We are in a storm”
Author’s transcript of speech given by Roger Ailes at the Kennedy Center, June 12, 2013.

  
22.
Rick Santelli
“Rick Santelli’s Shout Heard ’Round the World,”
CNBC.com
, Feb. 22, 2009,
http://www.cnbc.com/id/29283701
.

  
23.
prime-time ratings jumped
Daniel Frankel, “CNN: A Fall from Glory, or a Much Better Story?,”
Variety
, April 13, 2009.

  
24.
Fox personalities
Michael Calderone, “Fox Teas Up a Tempest,”
Politico
, April 15, 2009.

  
25.
“There would not have been”
Author interview with national Tea Party Express cofounder Sal Russo.

  
26.
In July 2008
Brian Stelter, “Fox’s Brit Hume to Stop Anchoring ‘Special Report’ After Election,”
New York Times
, July 15, 2008.

  
27.
Then, two weeks after
Chris Ariens, “David Rhodes Leaves Fox News for Bloomberg,”
TVNewser
(blog), Nov. 19, 2008,
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/david-rhodes-leaves-fox-news-for-bloomberg_b21839
.

  
28.
Rhodes’s brother, Ben
Mark Landler, “Worldly at 35, and Shaping Obama’s Voice,”
New York Times
, March 15, 2013.

  
29.
David, for his part
Author interview with a person familiar with the matter.

  
30.
He cringed when
David G. Savage, “Legal Challenges Have Slim Chances,”
Chicago Tribune
, Dec. 8, 2008.

  
31.
a few months after Rhodes’s departure
Michael Liedtke, “New Venture to Introduce Fees for Online News,” Associated Press, April 15, 2009. John Moody would return to Fox News in June 2013 to serve as executive editor and executive VP.

  
32.
“They used to tell Roger no”
Author interview with a senior executive at Fox News.

  
33.
One Christmas
Author interviews with Fox News executives.

  
34.
Bill Sammon
John Eggerton, “Fox News Names New VP and Bureau Manager in Washington,”
Broadcasting & Cable
, Feb. 26, 2009,
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/179936-Fox_News_Names_New_VP_and_Bureau_Manager_in_Washington.php
.

  
35.
Days after Obama’s inauguration
Author interview with a former employee in the Washington, D.C., bureau of Fox News.

  
36.
Later, Sammon caused problems
Ben Dimiero, “Fox’s Bill Sammon Problem,”
Media Matters for America
, March 29, 2011,
http://mediamatters.org/research/2011/03/29/foxs-bill-sammon-problem/178036
.

  
37.
Moody’s replacement
Fox News, “Michael Clemente Joins Fox News from ABC News,” Business Wire (press release), Feb. 24, 2009.

  
38.
Early in his tenure
Author interviews with Fox News executives.

  
39.
The most potent
Richard Huff, “He’s Beck Again, with Commentary, Not News,” New York
Daily News
, Jan. 19, 2009.

  
40.
Within weeks
“Fox News’s Mad, Apocalyptic, Tearful Rising Star,”
New York Times
, March 29, 2009.

  
41.
Only Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity
Ibid.

  
42.
“You are probably the most”
Author interview with a person familiar with the matter.

  
43.
“I see your show”
Ibid.

  
44.
He conceived his program
Ibid.

  
45.
With the Dow plunging
http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=%5Edji+interactive#symbol=%5Edji;range=20070101,20090918;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined
.

  
46.
He founded his own company
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/program/
.

  
47.
In a break from Fox tradition
Glenn Beck hired Matthew Hiltzik, who had worked for Miramax. His firm, Hiltzik Strategies, represented such clients as Couric.

  
48.
The day after
“Fox Host Glenn Beck: Obama Is a Racist” (video),
Huffington Post
, Aug. 28, 2009.

  
49.
Ailes told his executives
Author interviews with a person familiar with the matter.

  
50.
“Glenn Beck expressed”
Chris Ariens, “FNC Responds to Glenn Beck Calling Pres. Obama a Racist,”
Mediabistro
, July 28, 2009.

  
51.
The White House failed
Glenn Beck
, Fox News Channel (transcript), Aug. 24, 2009.

  
52.
One day in the summer
Author interview with former White House adviser Van Jones. Much of the following information comes from interviews with Jones.

  
53.
Dan Pfeiffer
Author interview with a senior Obama adviser.

  
54.
Jones asked his chief of staff
Author interview with Van Jones.

  
55.
On September 1
Ibid.

  
56.
A YouTube video
Van Jones speech in Berkeley, video, Feb. 11, 2009, YouTube,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt66eWnjoTo
, accessed Nov. 12, 2013.

  
57.
Under pressure
Glenn Thrush, “Van Jones: A**hole Remark ‘Inappropriate,’ ” “On Congress” (blog),
Politico
, Sept. 2, 2009,
http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0909/Van_Jones_Ahole_remark_inappropriate.html
.

  
58.
The same week
Martin Kady II, “Pence Calls on Van Jones to Resign,” “On Congress” (blog),
Politico
, Sept. 4, 2009,
http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0909/Pence_calls_on_Van_Jones_to_resign.html
.

  
59.
On September 6
John M. Broder, “White House Official Resigns After Flood of G.O.P. Criticism,”
New York Times
, Sept. 7, 2009.

  
60.
On the morning of September 10
Special Report with Bret Baier
, Fox News Channel (transcript), Sept. 10, 2009.

  
61.
Andrew Breitbart
Author interview with Andrew Breitbart before his death in 2012.

  
62.
Breitbart thought it was a bombshell
Darryl Fears and Carol D. Leonnig, “The $1,300 Mission to Fell ACORN,”
Washington Post
, Sept. 18, 2009.

  
63.
That summer
Patrick Gavin, “Obama Slams Fox News,”
Politico
, June 16, 2009,
http://www.politico.com/blogs/michaelcalderone/0609/Obama_slams_Fox_News.html
.

  
64.
“We had anecdotal reports”
Author interview with Anita Dunn, former communications director for President Barack Obama.

  
65.
In meetings
Author interview with a Fox producer.

  
66.
What most alarmed
Howard Kurtz, “Unamplified, Beck’s Voice Still Carries,”
Washington Post
, Sept. 14, 2009.

  
67.
In an interview
New York Times
, “Talk to the Times” (Q&A with Jill Abramson), Sept. 7, 2009.

  
68.
“The narrative”
Author interview with Anita Dunn.

  
69.
Dunn reached out
Sherman, “The Elephant in the Green Room.”

  
70.
After conferring with Obama
Author interview with current and former administration officials.

  
71.
In mid-September
The O’Reilly Factor
, Fox News Channel (transcript), Sept. 18, 2009. See also Jonathan Karl, “Obama, in Media Blitz, Snubs ‘Whining’ Fox,”
ABCNews.com
, Sept. 19, 2009,
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obamas-media-tour-include-fox-news/story?id=8621065
.

  
72.
In early October
Reliable Sources
, CNN (transcript), Oct. 11, 2009.

  
73.
in late October
Reliable Sources
, CNN (transcript), Oct. 25, 2009.

  
74.
The move backfired
Steve Krakauer, “Tipping Point? White House Press Pool Stands Up for Fox News,”
Mediaite
, Oct. 23, 2009,
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/tipping-point-white-house-press-pool-stands-up-for-fox-news/
.

  
75.
“He’s a fierce competitor”
Joan Vennochi, “The Brains of the Bush Offensive; Strategist Roger Ailes Remade the Candidate,”
Boston Globe
, Oct. 26, 1988.

  
76.
About a week before Dunn’s
Sherman, “The Elephant in the Green Room.”

  
77.
“He relished it”
Author interview with a senior producer.

  
78.
Another recalled
Author interview with a senior producer.

  
79.
One told news chief
Author interview with a Fox executive.

  
80.
“The D.C. bureau’s job”
Author interview with a senior producer.

  
81.
On Friday, October 23
Author interview with people familiar with the matter.

  
82.
Clemente finally called Gibbs
Author interview with a Fox executive.

  
83.
In November
David Bauder, “Fox’s Major Garrett Gets Obama Interview,” Associated Press, Nov. 17, 2009.

  
84.
But Major Garrett had had enough
Howard Kurtz, “Major Garrett Leaves Behind Obama-Fox War; White House Correspondent Moves from Fox TV to Print at National Journal,”
Washington Post
, Aug. 26, 2010.

  
85.
“Roger’s thinking”
Author interview with a senior executive.

  
86.
“The way the business works”
Author interview with a former Fox News executive.

  
87.
In the months since
Frankel, “CNN: A Fall from Glory, or a Much Better Story?”

  
88.
The attacks were successful
Esquire
, “Rupert Murdoch Has Potential,” Oct. 1, 2008.