The Fox News family is mourning the death of Roger Ailes, who passed away on Thursday morning at the age of 77. Ailes built Fox News into the media juggernaut it is today after joining in 1996, when the company was still in its infancy.
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On Thursday morning, Sean Hannity weighed in on the loss of his mentor.
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Hannity, who has been with Fox since 1996 mourned Ailes in a series of tweets, writing:
Today America lost one of its great patriotic warriors. Roger Ailes. For Decades RA has impacted American politics and media. He has dramatically and forever changed the political and media landscape singlehandedly for the better. Neither will ever be the same again as he was a true American original. Few people in this life will ever reach the profound level of impact that Roger Ailes had on the country every single day. As his opponents played checkers in life, Roger was always the strategist, playing Chess, 5 steps ahead at a whole other level. On a personal note, were it not for Roger Ailes, I would not be the person I am today. In 1996 he took a huge risk on an inexperienced, young, local radio talk show host in Atlanta. To this day I have no earthly idea why I was hired and not fired early on, as I had little television experience when I was hired by FNC, as old tapes humbly remind me. He saw something in me and many others he hired that we never saw in ourselves, and he forever changed the trajectory of thousands of peoples lives. In many ways he was like a second father after I lost my father 6 months after I started at FNC and I am forever grateful. His endless enthusiasm, energy, wit, humor and raw instinctive intelligence will be greatly missed. It would be nice if the media would leave Roger and his family alone in their time of grief, but knowing people that hated him and his politics, and those that forget “all have sinned and fallen short” and “cast the first stone” I doubt that will happen. But to his enemies know this; I say ADVANTAGE ROGER, In his mind he just has a head start in preparing to kick your ass in the next life. God speed Roger Ailes!
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Ailes’ later life was marred by sexual harassment scandals, including a lawsuit in which Gretchen Carlson claimed she was fired for refusing Ailes’ sexual requests, which forced him out of Fox last year. His conservative-minded network was the first of its kind, featuring hosts like Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity who enjoyed massive followings. Ailes’ fall from grace was followed by Bill O’Reilly’s removal in the wake of sexual harassment allegations.