CAROL COSTELLO (HOST): Do you feel the Earth shaking? The top boss at Fox News could soon be on his way out. CEO Roger Ailes is in talks to leave the network after damning allegations of sexual harassment from his staff eported, including the primetime anchor, you know her, Gretchen Carlson. Joining me now, senior media correspondent Brian Stelter. There are so many conflicting reports yesterday about this. So what's the deal?
BRIAN STELTER: Yeah, he has not left yet. Roger Ailes is still in charge of Fox today, but not for much longer. The Murdochs, who own [21st] Century Fox, have decided that Ailes must leave, which is a staggering development. And quite an end for his career at Fox. He built Fox News 20 years ago from nothing into this conservative cable news powerhouse. But amid these allegations of sexual harassment by Gretchen Carlson, by other women, and possibly even by Megyn Kelly, he is on the way out. I would argue this is almost as significant a development as Donald Trump's nomination here in Cleveland. Because for the GOP, for the Republican Party, Roger Ailes has been a king-maker. At times, he's even given advice to Republican presidents and would-be presidents. He's on the phone with Donald Trump all the time. So the consequences of this, although we don't know exactly what they will be, could be far-reaching.
COSTELLO: Actually I was going to say it's amazing because usually women who accuse powerful men of sexual harassment don't come out the victors and Gretchen Carlson should very much come out the victor if Roger Ailes leaves.
STELTER: Yes, as much as --
COSTELLO: You don't know how unusual that really is. Because, right, Bill O'Reilly was accused himself. Usually they pay the woman off and she goes away and is never heard from again, but this didn't happen.
STELTER: And that's where the focus should stay, is on these accusers. On this lawsuit by Gretchen Carlson, and on the other women who say they were victims, in some cases, many years ago, of Roger Ailes. There’s a lot of buzz in the industry about what this means for Fox News, the future of Fox. Are stars of Fox going to leave? What's going to happen to the network? But I agree with you, it’s unusual to have this happen and it may encourage, in the future, other women in other workplaces to feel more confident speaking up in these situations.
