The World Roger Ailes Made
Lucky him, he doesn’t have to live in it anymore.
If you’re looking for someone to encapsulate the legacy of Roger Ailes, who died this morning at the age of 77, Slate’s Isaac Chotiner — whose interviews are currently the best in the business — has some thoughts:
When Rupert Murdoch hired Ailes to create Fox News as an “alternative” to the mainstream media, Murdoch’s intention was clear. He wanted to degrade American society in precisely the way he had degraded British society. And when degradation is your goal, there is no better hire than Roger Ailes. Ailes was a political aide turned television genius who emanated anger; his crucial insight was that there was a great amount of money to be made off the resentments of others. And the more you could stoke those resentments, the more money you would earn. At the same time, you could increase the net amount of resentment, and create a coarser society, all the better for your own pocketbook.
There is also this sweet remembrance from Awl pal Ken Layne.
They’re both at peace now.
I think that’s enough space to take up with Roger Ailes.