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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRoger Ailes Used Fox News Budget to Finance ‘Black Room’ Campaigns Against His Enemies
By Gabriel Sherman
As Rupert Murdoch seeks to stabilize Fox News in the wake of Roger Ailess ouster, a crucial question remains unanswered: How was Ailes able to spend millions of dollars to settle sexual harassment claims without it setting off alarm bells?
According to three highly-placed sources, part of the answer is that there were few checks on Ailes when it came to the Fox News budget. It was the culture, one Fox executive said. You didnt ask questions, and Roger wouldnt entertain questions. One former News Corp executive explained that because Fox made more than $1 billion in annual profits, the funds that were used for settlements amounted to little more than a rounding error.
But with Ailes gone, Fox executives are now looking closely at how Ailes spent Fox money. And what they are discovering is that, beyond the sexual harassment claims, Ailes was also able to use portions of the Fox budget to hire consultants, political operatives, and private detectives that reported only to him, according to a senior Fox source. Last week, according to the source, Fox News dismissed five consultants whom Ailes had hired to do work that was more about advancing his own agenda than Foxs. One of the consultants, Bert Solivan, ran negative PR campaigns against Ailess personal and political enemies out of Fox News headquarters, a source said. A Fox News spokesperson confirmed: Solivan was recently informed that his services were no longer needed. Solivan, who had previously worked for Fox News as a general manager of the channels website, did not respond to requests for comment.
According to one highly-placed source, Solivan worked out of what Fox insiders called the Black Room, an operation Ailes established around 2011 to conduct PR and surveillance campaigns against people he targeted both inside and outside the company. The Black Room was located on the 14th floor of the News Corp building at 1211 Avenue of the Americas, a quiet part of the office that housed Fox News Latino and some marketing and promotions employees. Fox employees Ken LaCorte and Jim Pinkerton, veteran political operatives whove worked with Ailes since the 1980s, also worked with Solivan, the source said, adding that Ailess personal lawyer, and Fox contributor, Peter Johnson Jr. advised the team. (In an email, Peter Johnson denied any involvement in Black Room campaigns, saying, The only online campaign Im aware of is yours attempting to create a truth from a fiction with this account.)
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http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/08/ailes-used-fox-budget-to-finance-campaigns-against-enemies.html
Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)Watch for major law suits to come. This might be the down fall of Fake Noise. Hunch Clinton Campaign seeking court order soon after this news dump. Hillary has always wanted to put the face on the Right Wing Conspiracy People.
salin
(48,955 posts)It is going to be interesting to watch these stories unfold.