Murdoch's World (58 page)
Authors: David Folkenflik
Page 237
The younger generation's efforts to work in unison:
Author's interviews with two former News Corp officials and a confidant of one of the adult Murdoch children; Sarah Ellison, “The Rules of Succession,”
Vanity Fair
, December 1, 2011.
Page 237
James and Rebekah fucked the company:
Michael Wolff, tweet, as cited in Jamie Doward and Lisa O'Connell, “Murdochs in âFamily Fallout' over Crisis,”
Guardian
, July 16, 2011.
Page 237
James remained hidden from view:
News Corp earnings call, August 11, 2011,
http://seekingalpha.com/article/286535-news-management-discusses-q4â2011-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single
.
Page 238
“that's a matter of real regret”:
James Murdoch, interview by Tom Bradbury, July 8, 2011.
Page 238
In one sign among many:
Sharon Otterman, “Subsidiary of News Corp Loses Deal for State,”
New York Times
, August 29, 2011.
Page 238
Chapman . . . cited a “feeling of family compassion”:
Jonathan Chapman, testimony to CMS, September 6, 2011.
Page 238
As Crone and Myler addressed the committee:
Tom Crone and Colin Myler, testimony to CMS, September 6, 2011.
Page 240
“given Mr. Murdoch's board an F”:
Neal Minow, interview by author.
Page 240
“If you had this happen in a normal company”:
Laura Martin, interview by author.
Page 240
confidence laced with bravado:
Rupert Murdoch, address to News Corp annual shareholders meeting, Fox Studios, Los Angeles, October 21, 2011. Subsequent quotations and exchanges with shareholders at the meeting taken from same event.
Page 241
“I think I've got a duty”:
Tom Watson MP, interview by author.
Page 241
board members found it difficult to distinguish:
Two former News Corp executives, interviews by author.
Page 241
The day proved arduous:
Amy Chozick and Michael J. De La Merced, “Murdoch's Sons Rebuked by News Corp. Shareholders,”
New York Times
, October 24, 2011.
Page 242
was James Murdoch a fool or a knave?
James Murdoch, testimony to CMS, November 11, 2011. Murdoch's remarks to MPs are drawn from that session as well.
Page 244
The public learned of the private eyes:
Louise Mensch MP, remarks during James Murdoch testimony; Crone, letter to Whittingdale, December 1, 2011; author's interview with Lewis.
Page 244
the identity of an anonymous police blogger:
Ben Webster, “The Times and the Nightjack Case,”
Times of London
, January 19, 2012; David Allen Green, “Why the Hacking of NightJack Matters,”
New Statesman
, January 20, 2012.
Page 244
the
Sunday Times
acknowledged . . . “blagging”:
John Witherow, testimony at Leveson Inquiry, January 17, 2012; “Leveson Inquiry: The Sunday Times âBlagged Gordon Brown,'”
Telegraph
, January 17, 2012.
Page 244
In the middle of February:
David Batty, “Senior Sun Journalists Arrested in Police Payments Probe,”
Guardian
, February 11, 2012.
Page 245
Rupert Murdoch returned to London:
“Rupert Murdoch Says Sun on Sunday âto Launch Soon' and Lifts Suspensions,”
Sun
, February 20, 2012.
Page 245
“a network of corrupted officials”:
Deputy assistant police commissioner Sue Akers, testimony to Leveson Inquiry, February 27, 2012.
Chapter 20
Page 246
fancy, high-powered dinners:
Former Fox News executive, interview by author.
Page 247
He turned to Francisco Cortes for help:
Francisco Cortes, interview by author; David Folkenflik, “How Fox Pioneered a Formula for Latino News,”
All Things Considered
, August 8, 2012. Additional background drawn from Eliza Gray, “Roger Ailes' Border War,”
New Republic
, February 11, 2013.
Page 247
accounted for more than half of the country's population growth:
Sharon R. Ennis, Merays Rios-Vargas, and Nora G. Albert, “The Hispanic
Population: 2010,” part of US Census Bureau report, “2010 Census Briefs,” May 2011,
www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-04.pdf
.
Page 248
a poll on Latino views:
Carolyn Salazar, “Almost Half of Latino Voters Find âIllegal Immigrant' Offensive, Says Poll,” Fox News Latino, March 8, 2012.
Page 248
“Eighty-five percent support undocumented workers”:
Bryan Llenas, interview by Rick Folbaum,
Fox News Live
, March 9, 2012.
Page 248
The chairman had always minted the stars:
The background on Beck's tenure at Fox News is informed by author's interviews with Glenn Beck, Bill Shine, and several other journalists at the network.
Page 249
Ailes took steps to remove Beck:
The depiction of Beck's departure is based on the author's interviews with two Fox News executives, one Ailes associate, and two Beck associates.
Page 249
A carefully orchestrated joint interview:
David Bauder, “Fox News Channel Ending Glenn Beck's Daily Show Later This Year,” Associated Press, April 6, 2011.
Page 249
flashes of his trademark humor: Beck
,
April 6, 2011.
Page 249
a deranged business genius:
Author's interviews with a current Fox News executive, a former Fox News producer, and a former Fox executive.
Page 250
Ailes was paid:
Compensation figures for Roger Ailes taken from News Corp's “Form 10-Q Quarterly Report,” filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on February 2, 2009.
Page 250
still just a hired hand:
Author's interviews with four people to whom Ailes expressed this sentiment.
Page 251
she told Petraeus she had a message:
This remarkable exchange was captured and posted online by the
Washington Post
. Material in this passage is drawn from Bob Woodward, “Fox News Chief's Failed Attempt to Enlist Petraeus as Presidential Candidate,”
Washington Post
, December 3, 2012; “Transcript: Kathleen T. McFarland Talks with Gen. David Petraeus,”
Washington Post
, December 3, 2012.
Page 251
The Republican field needs shaking up:
Ailes shared his thinking about the presidential field with Howard Kurtz, “Secret Tape: Ailes Tried to Entice Petraeus to Run,” Daily Beast, December 4, 2012.
Page 252
Romney did no interviews:
List of Romney media appearances and interviews between October 11 and November 11, 2011, provided to author by Romney campaign.
Page 253
Romney met privately with Fox News executives:
Friend of Ailes, interview by author.
Page 253
Then he sat down with Fox's Bret Baier:
Romney, interview by Bret Baier, Fox News
Special Report
, November 29, 2011.
Page 253
the “Fox primary”:
Walter Shapiro, “The Idiot Box,”
New Republic
, September 14, 2011.
Page 253
“Can't resist this tweet”:
Rupert Murdoch Twitter account,
@rupertmurdoch
, January 2, 2012.
Page 253
hold his former employers at Fox responsible:
Zev Chafets, “Exclusive Excerpt: Roger Ailes Off Camera,”
VanityFair.com
, March 2013.
Page 253
So, for that matter, did Gingrich:
Scott Conroy, “Gingrich Charges Fox News with Pro-Romney Bias,” Real Clear Politics, April 11, 2012. “Were Murdoch and News Corp Anti-Gingrich?”
the4thEstate.net
, May 3, 2012; “News Corp Not Only Media Corporation Hostile to Gingrich,”
the4thEstate.net
, May 15, 2012.
Page 254
like a political hit piece:
Dylan Byers, “Fox Releases 4-Minute Attack on Obama,” Politico, May 30, 2012.
Page 254
Fox removed the video:
Jeremy W. Peters, “Enemies and Allies for âFriends,'”
New York Times
, June 20, 2012.
Page 254
CNN posted a correction and an apology:
Jane Mayer, “The Health Care Ruling That Wasn't,”
New Yorker
, June 28, 2012.
Page 254
Fox said it had gotten the story right:
Bill Hemmer, Fox News rolling coverage of the Supreme Court ruling, June 28, 2012.
Page 255
Christie took to Fox News:
Chris Christie, interview on
Fox & Friends
, October 30, 2012.
Page 255
Obama further rewarded him:
Matt Katz, “Christie Makes a Friend Named Bruce Springsteen,”
Philadelphia Inquirer
, November 5, 2012.
Page 256
Murdoch and Ailes met with Romney:
A friend of Ailes, interview by author.
Page 256
“Can't blame Christie”:
Rupert Murdoch, Twitter feed, November 3, 2012.
Page 256
“first Republican gov to support Romney”:
Rupert Murdoch, Twitter feed, November 3, 2012.
Page 256
As a mark of respect:
Michael Barbaro, “After Obama, Christie Wants a G.O.P. Hug,”
New York Times
, November 19, 2012.
Page 256
“Monolithic media will spend next three days”:
Rupert Murdoch, Twitter feed, November 3, 2012.
Page 257
“Romney seeing small late surge”:
Rupert Murdoch, Twitter feed, November 4, 2012.
Page 257
his column in the
Journal:
Karl Rove, “Can We Believe the Presidential Polls?”
Wall Street Journal
, October 4, 2012.
Page 258
“we've already painted those red”:
David Paleologos, interview,
O'Reilly Factor
, October 9, 2012.
Page 258
“this momentum will continue”:
Dick Morris, interview,
Hannity
, October 15, 2012.
Page 258
the
Time
s took a gamble
:
New York Times
editor, interview by author.
Page 258
offered the Fox audience a vision: Dick
Morris, interview,
On the Record with Greta Van Susteren
, November 1, 2012.
Page 258
“My personal guess”:
Newt Gingrich, interview,
On the Record with Greta Van Susteren
, November 5, 2012.
Page 259
“about a seven-point margin”:
Dick Morris, interview,
Hannity
, November 5, 2012.
Page 259
arranged to write a memoir:
Bill Keller, “Murdoch's Pride is America's Poison,”
New York Times
, May 5, 2012.
Page 260
whether he took prescription pills:
Eddie Scarry of FishbowlDC, email to Gabriel Sherman, May 7, 2013. Sherman provided the email to the author.
Page 260
bought a bunch of domain addresses:
Erik Wemple, “Roger Ailes Biography Sparks an Internet Shopping Spree,”
WashingtonPost.com
, January 25, 2013.
Page 260
obsessed with the pay of David Zaslav:
Author's interview with two Ailes associates for this account of his flirtation with Newsmax.
Page 260
he was aging and had health issues:
Chafets,
Roger Ailes
, p. 234.
Page 260
He had never groomed a successor:
Two former News Corp officials, interview by author. Ailes told Zev Chafets that he had indeed made plans for his succession but was keeping them secret. However, the job, strictly speaking, is not Ailes's to bestow.
Page 261
Ailes had signed a four-year contract extension:
Sam Thielman, “Roger Ailes Renews News Corp. Contract,”
Adweek
, October 19, 2012.
Page 261
“looking like someone ran over your dog”:
Ailes, quoted in Gabriel Sherman, “How Karl Rove Fought with Fox News over the Ohio Call,”
New York Magazine
, November 7, 2012.
