A report from New York magazine indicates that Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes is leaning towards Gov. Scott Walker for the Republican presidential nomination, while personally involving himself in the network's attacks on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

The report, from media writer Gabriel Sherman, is tied to the recent shakeup in the corporate leadership of Fox News parent 21^st Century Fox. Rupert Murdoch is stepping down from 21^st Century and installing his son James, who presided over publications involved in the phone hacking scandal in England, as the company's new CEO. But Ailes will reportedly continue to report directly to Rupert Murdoch, and not to James, who he reportedly once described as a “fucking dope.”

Sherman reports that Fox insiders say that Ailes -- a long time conservative activist who worked on Richard Nixon's presidential campaign -- “simply isn't dazzled by any of the GOP contenders” for president “so far” and has even personally clashed with Jeb Bush and Chris Christie, chiding Christie for appearing with President Obama during Hurricane Sandy as “the fat kid in high school chasing the popular kid” (At the time of the hurricane Murdoch said that Christie had to “take blame” if Obama was re-elected).

Yet Ailes is “said to like” Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is “a ready-made Fox hero” for his Midwestern roots and union-busting agenda. Sherman also notes that Walker's “hard-line” immigration position is “in sync with Fox's.” Fox has been a reliable ally for Walker in his fights against public sector labor unions, and on-air hosts have described the governor as a “sexy guy” and someone who makes “my toes curl.” In turn, Walker advised fellow Republicans to use Fox to get their “message out.”

Media Matters has extensively documented the “Fox News primary” in which Republican presidential candidates vie against each other for the network's attention in order to build a following and campaign funds from the network's heavily conservative audience. Some of the current candidates, like Mike Huckabee and Ben Carson, were Fox News employees. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who is considering a run, also worked for Fox.

Fox's role as kingmaker of the Republican field is more pronounced in this cycle as the network is determining who qualifies to participate in the first official television debate in what some at Fox have described as “Fox's Cleveland primary.” Sherman notes that after the failed 2012 election, “many GOPers privately blamed Fox for turning debates into a reality-show spectacle.”

Sherman also reports that Ailes is eager to tell the story of “Hillary Clinton as Über-villain” in the 2016 election, harkening back to a 1994 interview in which Ailes accused Clinton of a “suicide cover-up - possible murder.” An associate of Ailes told Sherman that it would be “Freddy Krueger time” at the White House if Clinton is elected.

According to Sherman, Ailes “helped edit” Fox's prime time special promoting author Peter Schweizer's error-riddled and dishonest book, Clinton Cash. A Media Matters analysis showed that the network gave Clinton Cash $107 million in free publicity over five days, despite the numerous false and inaccurate claims in it.