NEW YORK (AP) – Few media titans can claim a lasting legacy. They make their impact felt during stellar careers, and are honored and rewarded for it. Then, one way or another, they pass from the scene as other studio and network bosses, publishers and impresarios take their turns at wielding power and influence.
This rule does not apply to Roger Ailes. Through a career spanning a half-century, Ailes mastered the art of media messaging and applied it, interchangeably, to politics and broadcasting. With his commanding role in merging these two worlds, he flourished in both, and has left them both transformed.
For better or worse, Ailes, who died Thursday at 77, leaves a permanent mark.
Ailes died after a fall at his Palm Beach, Florida, home on May 10 caused bleeding on the brain, the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office said. Ailes fell in his bathroom, hit his head and was bleeding profusely. He was taken to a hospital by attending paramedics, the Palm Beach Police Department said.
He is survived by his third wife, Elizabeth, who had worked for him at CNBC as vice president of programming, and their son, Zachary.