This was published before last night’s debate. It’s a given that Roger Ailes can’t live forever (neither can Murdoch, but on the other hand, his mom lived to 103, and Rupe’s feeling frisky enough to announce he’s getting married again). Gabriel Sherman, dedicated Rupert-nologist, at NYMag:
…According to four high-placed Fox sources, Murdoch is upping his presence at Fox while Ailes has become less visible to anchors and producers, signaling a shift that marks a new chapter in the network’s history. The most visible change is that since June Murdoch has been attending Ailes’s daily executive meeting held on the second floor of Fox headquarters. The secretive afternoon gathering in Ailes’s conference room is attended by about a half-dozen of the network’s most senior lieutenants. It’s where some of the most sensitive decisions about running the channel are discussed.
Murdoch has so far been a quiet observer, but his presence at the table is striking to Fox executives. Some interpret it as a sign that the 84-year-old, newly engaged Australian mogul is preparing for a future when the 75-year-old Ailes is no longer in the picture. It’s one of the most significant decisions Wall Street will be watching: Fox is valued at north of $15 billion and generates as much as 30 percent of Murdoch’s profits. “He wants a smooth handover,” one executive told me. Right now the two leading internal candidates are Michael Clemente, who’s in charge of news, and Bill Shine, who oversees Fox Business. The rivalry between the two, as I’ve reported in the past, is fierce to the point that the two rarely speak. On Thursday night, Shine will have a chance to showcase his producing skills when Fox Business hosts the GOP debate in South Carolina…
Meanwhile, Fox hosts and producers tell me Ailes has been a somewhat diminished force at the network. In 2014, he took an extended leave of absence after a health scare. He still has trouble walking and rarely ventures out of his executive suite. A friend who ran into Ailes in Palm Beach over the holidays remarked that he was using a walker. “He seems detached and removed,” one Fox personality tells me. “He’s not around as much,” says another friend of Ailes. “He doesn’t have as many meetings with talent.”
What this means politically is that during this year’s fractious Republican primary, Fox isn’t functioning like the disciplined campaign it’s historically been. “There’s no directive on anything,” one anchor told me. “There used to be directives on everything, and now there’s not, which is kind of nice.” By far, the clearest sign of this leadership vacuum is the network’s erratic handling of Trump in the wake of his feud with Megyn Kelly. “There is no Trump strategy,” the source explained…
Several other prominent conservatives I’ve spoken with grumble that Murdoch is pushing Fox to be openly hostile to Trump and Ted Cruz at the same time the channel boosts Establishment candidates, most prominently Marco Rubio. “I’ve joked to people that they’ll be doing a segment about kumquats in China and somehow they’ll mention Rubio,” one Cruz ally told me. Another conservative activist pointed out that Fox gave Rubio the first interview opportunity following Obama’s Oval Office address on ISIS last month. Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal, it should also be noted, has been one of the most aggressive Trump and Cruz critics…
Pretty clearly, Trump and Cruz got all the “earned” (free) media last night; those few commentors who noticed Rubio’s presence weren’t impressed by his performance. So, did Fox Business “fail” at dinging Il Douche and the #Failgunner? Or can it be argued that last night’s Battle of the Titanic Egos makes both Donald & Ted look even more unappealing to the low-info primary voter?
Fortune got Murdoch to deny that Ailes was “taking a backseat,” for what that’s worth. But here’s the latest three entries on Rupert’s twitter feed (which he is said to compose & post):
GOP debate. All candidates do well, Rubio and Trump most effective. Cruz brilliant debater, but what else? Like ability still important!
— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) January 15, 2016
24 hours and many influential Republicans see Trump inevitable and get ready to switch. United by horror of Hillary whose campaign staggers
— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) January 16, 2016
Cruz bets uniting white conservatives/evangelicals enough, Meanwhile Trump appealing across party lines. Surely the winning strategy.
— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) January 16, 2016
If nothing else, I think we can safely add Murdoch to the list of those who don’t like Ted Cruz.
Open Thread: Another GOP Debate Experiment That Didn’t Pan Out — Or Did It?Post + Comments (72)