The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News--And Divided a Country (77 page)

  
87.
One day Peter Sturtevant got
Author interview with a former CNBC executive.

  
88.
Ailes called in to Don Imus’s
Lois Romano, “The Reliable Source” (column),
Washington Post
, March 11, 1994.

  
89.
one was under investigation
David Johnston, “Clinton Associate Quits Justice Post as Pressure Rises,”
New York Times
, March 15, 1994. Bernard Nussbaum was forced to resign in early March 1994. Webster Hubbell, who was under investigation at the time, resigned a week later.

  
90.
Like all the networks
Peter Johnson, “Ailes’ Whitewater Jokes Don’t Amuse White House,”
USA Today
, March 15, 1994.

  
91.
Lewis launched
Mary Alma Welch, “Cable Exec’s ‘Joke’ Bombs at White House; Remarks by Ailes ‘Inappropriate,’ ”
Washington Post
, March 12, 1994.

  
92.
“Ailes wasn’t joking”
Author interview with a former CNBC executive.

  
93.
“He had no right”
Author interview with former CNBC host Jane Wallace.

  
94.
Wallace quit
Joe Flint, “FX Talker Taps Wallace,”
Daily Variety
, April 6, 1994.

  
95.
After the weekend
Peter Johnson, “Ailes’ Whitewater Jokes Don’t Amuse White House.”

  
96.
“Tom’s had a little trouble”
Collins,
Crazy Like a Fox
, 18, citing an interview Ailes gave to
Multichannel News
in May 1994.

  
97.
Rogers was furious
Author interview with a former CNBC executive.

  
98.
“Roger has a very large ego”
Author interview with Robert Wright.

  
99.
“Who are you loyal to?”
Author interview with a former senior executive at NBC.

100.
“I’m going to rip”
Author interview with a former CNBC executive.

101.
One day, the executive noticed
Ibid.

102.
“Ailes didn’t trust David”
Author interview with a former staffer at America’s Talking.

103.
Ailes asked Scott Ehrlich
Author interview with a person familiar with the matter.

104.
Rogers approached Peter Sturtevant
Author interview with a former CNBC executive.

105.
“Sturtevant, I don’t want”
Ibid.

106.
She had cut off
Author interview with a person familiar with the matter.

107.
Sturtevant finally was transferred
J. Max Robins, “NBC Cable Ups Sturtevant, Reilly,”
Daily Variety
, Oct. 4, 1994.

108.
While Ailes seemed happy
Author interview with a former CNBC executive.

109.
Ailes openly criticized
David Brock, “Roger Ailes Is Mad as Hell,”
New York
, Nov. 17, 1997.

110.
In late 1994
Author interview with a former A-T producer. See also Alan Bash, “Vignettes Give Cable Networks Identity,”
USA Today
, March 14, 1994.

111.
Modeled after
“The Fastest Soaps, Bar None,”
Washington Post
, Feb. 5, 1995.

112.
“Roger ran his life”
Author interview with Glenn Meehan.

113.
“America is talking, but”
Author interview with a former senior NBC executive.

114.
Dennis Sullivan
Author interview with Dennis Sullivan.

115.
She grew up
Elizabeth Ailes’s commencement speech for the Mount Saint Mary College class of 2012, YouTube,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoTlCx7Kzx0
.

116.
“I remember”
Author interview with a former CNBC producer.

117.
Others marveled
Author interview with a former CNBC producer.

118.
Glenn Meehan also noticed
Author interview with Glenn Meehan.

119.
Nancy Hass
Nancy Hass, “Embracing the Enemy: Roger Ailes,”
New York Times Magazine
, Jan. 8, 1995.

120.
At first Ailes resisted
Author interview with a person familiar with the matter.

121.
Hass interviewed Welch
Ibid.

122.
“It was taken internally”
Author interview with a former America’s Talking staffer.

123.
“Roger sees everyone”
Hass, “Embracing the Enemy.”

    
1.
Five days
The following account is based on Ted Turner and Bill Burke,
Call Me Ted
(New York: Hachette Digital, 2008), 309–10. See also Skip Wollenberg, “Turner Broadcasting Breaks Off Talks with NBC,” Associated Press, Jan. 16, 1995.

    
2.
The network’s operating income
Charles Haddad, “Ready for a Rivalry,”
Atlanta Journal and Constitution
, Dec. 24, 1995.

    
3.
One afternoon
Author interview with a former CNBC executive.

    
4.
Shortly afterward, Wright and Scanlon
Letter from Andy Friendly to Robert Wright and Ed Scanlon, March 13, 1995.

    
5.
CNBC’s prime-time chief Andy Friendly confided
Ibid.

    
6.
Executives dubbed her
Author interview with a former CNBC staffer.

    
7.
On Monday, March 13
Letter from Andy Friendly to Robert Wright and Ed Scanlon, March 13, 1995.

    
8.
“When you get”
Author interview with Robert Wright.

    
9.
He took a job
King World, “CNBC’s Andy Friendly Joins King World as Executive VP of Programming and Production” (press release), Oct. 2, 1995.

  
10.
In June 1995
Bill Carter, “CNN Officials to Propose a Business News Cable Service,”
New York Times
, June 9, 1995.

  
11.
Ailes had tried
J. Max Robins, “The ABC’s of Michael Jackson,”
Variety
, June 26–July 9, 1995.

  
12.
He contemplated running attack ads
Joe Flint, “Brand Name Good for Biz,”
Variety
, Dec. 11–Dec. 17, 1995.

  
13.
“At this point”
Robins, “The ABC’s of Michael Jackson.”

  
14.
Ailes told the press
Carter, “CNN Officials to Propose a Business News Cable Service.”

  
15.
The negotiating window
Peter Johnson and Alan Bash, “Roger Ailes Ponders His Future with CNBC,”
USA Today
, June 21, 1995.

  
16.
Nine days
Johnson and Bash, “Roger Ailes Ponders His Future with CNBC.”

  
17.
On June 30, 1995
Letter from Robert Wright to Roger Ailes, June 30, 1995.

  
18.
“This is where”
Author interview with Robert Wright.

  
19.
In May 1995
Evan Ramstad, “Business News,” Associated Press, May 16, 1995. See also Bradley Johnson, “Microsoft-NBC: A ‘Virtual Corporation’; Details May Be Fuzzy but Packaging Is Loud as Companies Converge,”
Advertising Age
, May 22, 1995.

  
20.
Tom Rogers started
Author interview with Robert Wright.

  
21.
Ailes was initially unaware
Swint,
Dark Genius
, 124–26. See also Collins,
Crazy Like a Fox
, 15, 18.

  
22.
“The reality”
Author interview with Robert Wright.

  
23.
“meltdown mode”
Collins,
Crazy Like a Fox
, 22.

  
24.
Norma had filed
Divorce case 309767-1994, Supreme Court of the State of New York, Justice Phyllis Gangel-Jacob.

  
25.
“The bubble broke”
Author interview with Robert Wright.

  
26.
At a company dinner
Brock, “Roger Ailes Is Mad as Hell.”

  
27.
“a little fucking Jew prick”
Handwritten notes of Edward Scanlon following the alleged incident.

  
28.
On Saturday, September 30
Ibid.

  
29.
That night, Scanlon briefed
Ibid. Much of the following paragraph is based on Scanlon’s notes.

  
30.
“Howard Ganz”
Author interview with Robert Wright.

  
31.
NBC gave Ganz
Typed notes of Proskauer partner Howard Ganz. Much of the account of Ganz’s investigation detailed in subsequent paragraphs is based on these notes.

  
32.
A week into Ganz’s inquiry
Letter from Jim Greiner to Roger Ailes, Oct. 10, 1995, forwarded to Edward Scanlon, Oct. 10, 1995.

  
33.
“Roger is really working”
Letter from Edward Scanlon to Howard Ganz, Oct. 10, 1995.

  
34.
Bob Wright later said
Author interview with Robert Wright.

  
35.
Friday, October 13
Letter from David Zaslav to Howard Ganz, Oct. 17, 1995.

  
36.
On October 17
Typed notes of Howard Ganz prior to meeting with Hon. Milton Mollen.

  
37.
When later asked
Author interview with Milton Mollen. In an author interview, Howard Ganz confirmed that he was brought in by NBC to handle the dispute between Ailes and Zaslav. In a follow-up email, Ganz said: “I did, however, review what remains of my files regarding the matter involving Roger Ailes and they do not add anything more to the recollection I had when I spoke with you.” When I asked Tom Rogers about the events, he denied both being involved and that any incident ever occurred. “I am denying having gone to Scanlon,” he said. A day after I spoke with Tom Rogers, David Zaslav returned my call, having previously declined to speak with me for the book. “Tom Rogers called me and told me what you’re gonna lay out,” Zaslav said. As I began to detail my reporting, Zaslav cut the conversation off. “I don’t mean to be rude. I don’t care about the context,” he said. “It’s your book. You are going to write the narrative you are going to write. I’m saying to you that Roger and I had a screaming match and we had it out with each other. The anti-Semitic remark: If you write it, it’s false.” Zaslav continued: “Roger and I had many arguments. If there were an HR investigation, it was because we were telling each other to go to hell. Gabe, I wish you luck with your book.” He hung up the phone. After the conversation, I called his spokesperson and requested a follow-up conversation. Zaslav never responded to my request. Ed Scanlon and Richard Cotton declined to comment.

  
38.
NBC drafted
Internal NBC memo, Oct. 19, 1995.

  
39.
On October 20
Letter from Roger Ailes to Robert Wright, Oct. 20, 1995.

  
40.
But Ailes was getting reports
Memo from Brian Lewis to Roger Ailes, Oct. 18, 1995.

  
41.
Wednesday, October 25
Letter from David Zaslav to Edward Scanlon, Oct. 25, 1995.

  
42.
“It was a he-said”
Author interview with Robert Wright.

  
43.
At a staff meeting
Internal NBC memo, Oct. 30, 1995.

  
44.
On November 10
Employment agreements regarding Roger Ailes and David Zaslav, Nov. 10, 1995.

  
45.
“There was no apology”
Author interview with Milton Mollen.

  
46.
On November 21
“Communications Personals,”
Communications Daily
, Nov. 21, 1995.

  
47.
One Ailes loyalist
Author interview with a former CNBC colleague of Ailes.

  
48.
In late November 1995
Collins,
Crazy Like a Fox
, 18.

  
49.
“It was very, very uncomfortable”
Ibid.

  
50.
“He said he would run it”
Author interview with Robert Wright.

  
51.
“I love competition”
Elizabeth Sanger, “Financial News Is Hot,”
Newsday
, Dec. 3, 1995.

  
52.
On December 14
Collins,
Crazy Like a Fox
, 5–10, 17.

  
53.
On-screen, Bob Wright
CNBC/Dow Jones Business Video, “NBC Holds News Conference to Announce New 24-Hour News Channel” (transcript), Dec. 14, 1995.

  
54.
Microsoft was investing
Collins,
Crazy Like a Fox
, 9.

  
55.
The staggering $7.5 billion
Mark Landler, “Turner to Merge into Time Warner; a $7.5 Billion Deal,”
New York Times
, Sept. 23, 1995.

  
56.
In early December
United Press International, “ABC to Launch 24-Hour Cable News Channel,” Dec. 5, 1995.

  
57.
Speaking to a group
Associated Press, “Murdoch Planning All-News TV Network,” Nov. 29, 1995.

  
58.
Just a few months earlier
Ken Auletta, “The Pirate,”
New Yorker
, Nov. 13, 1995.

  
59.
A day after Murdoch’s announcement
“Battle of the Cable Stars: Turner Unfazed by Murdoch All-News Network Challenge,”
Los Angeles Times
, Times Wire Services, Nov. 30, 1995.

  
60.
“From CNN’s earliest days”
Turner and Burke,
Call Me Ted
, 336.

  
61.
One reporter asked
CNBC/Dow Jones, “NBC Holds News Conference to Announce New 24-Hour News Channel.”

  
62.
“Fuck them”
Collins,
Crazy Like a Fox
, 17.

  
63.
“I remember Dan Quayle”
Author interview with a former America’s Talking producer.

  
64.
Vanity Fair
Marie Brenner, “Steve Forbes’s Quixotic Presidential Quest,”
Vanity Fair
, Jan. 1996.

  
65.
When
The Washington Post
Howard Kurtz, “CNBC’s Roger Ailes, Talking a Fine Line,”
Washington Post
, Dec. 11, 1995.

  
66.
Ten days later
Liz Smith, “Roger’s a Free Man,”
Newsday
, Dec. 11, 1995.

  
67.
“We both realized”
Author interview with former General Electric chairman Jack Welch.

  
68.
On January 9
NBC separation agreement with Roger Ailes.

  
69.
A week later, dozens
Scott Williams, “Roger Ailes Out at CNBC,” Associated Press, Jan. 18, 1996.

  
70.
“Now look”
Collins,
Crazy Like a Fox
, 21.

  
71.
“When Roger came out”
Collins,
Crazy Like a Fox
, 22.

  
72.
“It’s an awkward day”
Ibid.

  
73.
What Wright did not say
Author interview with Robert Wright.

  
74.
Tom Rogers left
Richard Katz, “NBC’s Rogers Takes Post as Primedia’s CEO,”
Variety.com
, Sept. 28, 1999,
http://www.variety.com/1999/biz/news/nbc-s-rogers-takes-post-as-primedia-ceo-1117756095/
. See also Michael Singer, “Tom Rogers Named New CEO of TiVo,”
CNET News
, June 27, 2005,
http://news.cnet.com/Tom-Rogers-named-new-CEO-of-TiVo/2100-1040_3-5764357.html
.

  
75.
David Zaslav followed Rogers
Paula Bernstein, “Zaslav Is Wired to Replace Rogers as NBC Cable Chief,”
Hollywood Reporter
, Oct. 5, 1999. See also Ana Campoy, “Discovery Communications Names David Zaslav CEO,”
Marketwatch
, Nov. 16, 2006,
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/discovery-communications-names-david-zaslav-ceo
.

  
76.
In 2011
Christina Rexrode and Bernard Condon, “Typical CEO Made $9.6 Million Last Year, AP Study Finds,” Associated Press, May 25, 2012.

  
77.
In the weeks before his departure
Author interview with former executives at CNBC.

  
78.
The New York
Daily News
Richard Huff and Douglas Feiden, “Ailes Quits CNBC, Ch. 4 GM Steps In,” New York
Daily News
, Jan. 19, 1996.

  
79.
Earlier that fall
Collins,
Crazy Like a Fox
, 22–23. See also Auletta, “Vox Fox.”