Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes

Roger Ailes (1940-2017), the father of Fox News, fell from grace—and his position as head of the company—after accusations emerged of long-time sexual impropriety with employees. Ailes remains a polarizing figure, admired by some on the right—despite the scandal that engulfed him at the end—for his success in popularizing conservative views, while being detested by others as one of the main figures in the tabloidization and politicization of TV news. Alexis Bloom’s documentary is a warts-and-all (actually, mostly warts) portrait, blending archival material and new interviews to cover Ailes’s life, from his youth spent in the shadow of a stern and demanding father, up through working his way into TV (as an executive on The Mike Douglas Show), and then into political consulting, where he proved a savvy, ruthless operator who was instrumental in the victories of Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush, and Mitch McConnell. Ailes’s creation of a conservative TV talk platform, which morphed with Rupert Murdoch’s support into Fox News, made him even more powerful, as shown by his central role in the election of Donald Trump. Bloom might have more thoroughly examined the seedy culture at Fox News, but her coverage of Ailes’s history of harassment and vicious tactics paints him as a bully whose childhood might explain—although cannot excuse—his later conduct. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)