Roger Ailes resigns, and Rupert Murdoch steps in

His demise looks in some ways like a public beheading, but now it’s over.

The long all-powerful and seemingly irreplaceable Roger Ailes is out as chairman of Fox News, the network he co-founded 20 years ago and built into the No. 1. cable news outlet.

Ailes has formally and officially resigned as chairman and CEO after days of speculation and sordid reports of having sexually harassed a number of women over the years at the network and elsewhere.

Rupert Murdoch, chairman of parent 21st Century Fox, will assume Ailes’ role until a replacement is named.

News of Ailes’ resignation came Thursday afternoon in a release from 21st Century Fox.

It quotes Murdoch praising Ailes at length:

“Roger Ailes has made a remarkable contribution to our company and our country.  Roger shared my vision of a great and independent television organization and executed it brilliantly over 20 great years.

“Fox News has given voice to those who were ignored by the traditional networks and has been one of the great commercial success stories of modern media.

“It is always difficult to create a channel or a publication from the ground up and against seemingly entrenched monopolies. To lead a flourishing news channel, and to build Fox Business, Roger has defied the odds.”

Ailes was similarly gracious in his resignation letter, which read in part:

“Having spent 20 years building this historic business, 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.”

Yet over recent days, Ailes allies within Fox News were ramping up what appears to be a Save Roger Ailes campaign, recruiting longtime Fox News anchors to speak out in support of Ailes and to discourage more women from coming forward with complaints of harassment.

That prompted Murdoch on Wednesday to ban Ailes from the Fox News building in New York, according to The New York Times.

Ailes’ golden parachute

The news comes after days of reports that Ailes was on his way out, the only issue being when and under what terms. Both sides were working to craft an amicable separation, and it appears it took less time than expected.

While terms of Ailes’ exit have not been made public, reports have him accepting a good-bye package that includes a $40 million payout. He’ll also remain and adviser to 21st Century Fox.

In addition to launching Fox News, Ailes was a powerful figure in conservative Republican politics, with his network serving as a podium for its many spokespeople.

And his demise comes as the party he’s supported so avidly goes through its own wrenching turmoil with the ascendancy of Donald Trump, the ultimate outsider, as its presidential candidate.

But just what did Ailes in is not entirely clear.

What sparked his very public departure was a lawsuit filed by former on-air talent Gretchen Carlson charging that she was let go by the network for rebuffing Ailes’ sexual advances over the years. Report of the suit was followed by news stories of other women complaining of Ailes’ advances.

But Ailes’ behavior toward women was apparently widely known, and presumably by top management at 21st Century Fox, and tolerated. Which raises the question: Why now?

The answer is, why not?

Fox News is so dominant that it can survive and prosper without Ailes, and if anything he’s become a drag on the network’s future as a relic from what’s fast becoming a bygone era of TV news.

The real threat to Fox News is not CNN or MSNBC but the explosion in the number of alternative video news outlets across the internet.

Murdoch will oversee the network’s coverage of the presidential elections, but whoever steps in after will be tasked with building out Fox News across many different platforms.

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