More On Roger Ailes And His "Bomb-Proof" Windows

In Tim Dickinson’s Rolling Stone profile of paranoid Fox News chief Roger Ailes, one of the strangest revelations was that when he first moved into the cable channel’s headquarters on Sixth Avenue in New York City, Ailes had concerns about his safety. Specifically, he was nervous the gays would firebomb his office.

Or something. (Question: If Ailes planned on running a “fair and balanced” news operation, why would gays object?)

In Rolling Stone, the odd Ailes tale was relayed by Dan Cooper, one of Ailes’ earliest lieutenants during Fox News’ 1990’s launch. Cooper though, soon had a falling out and was banished from Ailes’ orbit.

Several years ago, Cooper turned to the Internet to write about his Fox News experiences and began posting chapters to his memoir, Naked Lunch, online. ("The best thing that ever happened to Roger Ailes was 9/11… It gave him the opportunity to throw gasoline on the bonfire he had already set to scorch and destroy traditional liberal values.”)

According to Cooper, here’s his telling of Ailes' weird obsession with bomb-proof windows: 

This unlikely building was the United States headquarters of News Corporation.  On the building’s second floor, clearly visible through the London Planes, through the row of massive windows, was The Crystal Palace. From the street, looking at the building, and also from the 48th Street side, passersby could see directly into The Crystal Palace, and once settled in, to Roger Ailes at work. Roger liked the vast dimensions of The Crystal Palace, the glass Diller table, and the ocean liner desk he ordered for himself. But Roger feared the fragility, the potential danger, of the glass windows. And so it came to pass that Roger Ailes summoned me to The Crystal Palace, and told me “I want all these windows replaced with bomb-proof glass”.

“Of course”, I said, and promptly called Rudy Nazath, the architect who was my collaborator on the design of the entire Fox News editorial and production facility in the building.

Rudy told me “There is no such thing as bomb-proof glass. I don’t even think there’s protective plastic or glass that can prevent an assault rifle if it’s fired up close. We can get the heaviest grade bullet-proof glass available, but what do you need it for?” I didn’t know.

So I asked Roger. “Roger, do you mind if I ask why the glass should be bomb-proof?”

Roger said “Because as soon as we’re on the air, homosexual activists are going to be down there every day protesting". He chuckled "And who knows what the hell they’ll do”.  Roger was worried that gays might bomb him.