Murdoch and sons agree to dump Fox News chief Roger Ailes amid sex harassment case, magazine reports

21st Century Fox Inc plans to remove Roger Ailes, the chairman and chief executive officer of Fox News who has been accused of sexual harassment by former anchor Gretchen Carlson, according to New York Magazine.

Fox Co-Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch and his sons James and Lachlan have agreed that Ailes should depart, though they haven’t settled on the timing or terms of his exit, the magazine reported, citing people it didn’t identify.

Ailes’s firing would be a stunning fall for one of the most successful media consultants and TV executives of the last half-century. The former adviser to Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan teamed with then-CEO Rupert Murdoch to found the Fox News Channel in 1996, and built it into one of the most profitable properties in all of media. 

Fox News Channel ranks as one of the highest-rated cable networks, and is a huge source of profit for the parent company. 21st Century Fox’s cable networks, led by the news channel, accounted for about half of the parent company’s revenue last year and more than two-thirds of operating income.

Ailes, 76, was sued for alleged sexual harassment by Carlson, who claimed she was fired in June for refusing his advances and complaining about his conduct. The allegations prompted 21st Century Fox to begin an internal review. Her accusations were followed by published claims from several other women, all of which allegedly occurred before the Fox News Channel began airing.

“This matter is not yet resolved and the review is not concluded,” 21st Century Fox said in an e-mailed statement.