The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News--and Divided a Country Kindle Edition

Gabriel Sherman is a liberal writer and clearly this is a book that doesn't paint Fox News or right wing media in the best light. But you have to take the good with the bad and the bad with the good. Gabriel, to his credit, does an amazing job at painting the life story of Roger Ailes, getting deep into his roots from his humble, but frustrating Ohio beginnings through the Nixon years and his roots in the conservative media movement in America. Also the way Ailes was instrumental in the Mike Douglas show and his understanding of rural America's appetite for compelling family friendly programming that has a conservative bent. Gabriel also dives into Ailes working on Broadway, his support for Civil Rights, and his influence with many people in the entertainment world who will all admit that this guy was brilliant, but because of his later involvement with Fox News, had to hide it. Barbara Walters a notable friend of Ailes as an example. You may hate Roger Ailes, you may hate Fox News, but you have to admit his brilliance in tapping into an audience that was undeserved by the coastal liberal media establishment. And Ailes fought like hell to talk to those people. Both fans and critics of Fox News/Conservative Media will enjoy this book.

Love 'em or hate 'em, it's a fact that Mr. Ailes helped to transform our country's manner of political discourse. No one person does it alone. Mr. Ailes had help as well as willing customers and clients. Mr. Sherman does an excellent job of keeping his eye on the ball by focusing on Mr. Ailes's life. It is no small matter when you consider Mr. Ailes was surrounded by many colorful controversial people. The author does very quick descriptions of other notorious celebrities such as Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, Megyn Kelly, President Nixon, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Mike Douglas. Rupert Murdoch is more in depth because of the nature of his and Mr. Ailes's relationship. Executives and employees are also used to give a fuller picture of how Mr. Ailes's actions were received by his targets.

Mr. Ailes was a complicated individual. The author explains the evolution of Ailes from his humble beginnings to his rise as a media maestro. The book covers such topics as Mr. Ailes's college years, his work for the Mike Douglas Show, his chance meeting with candidate Richard Nixon which propelled him into political campaigns, his efforts into producing New York City plays, the George H.W. Bush presidential run, his first dabbling into conservative television at TVN, and his eventual success creating Fox News. About half of the book focuses on the happenings during his tenure at Fox News. It involves a lot of examples of the power struggles and ideological clashes between Mr. Ailes and enemies, some actual while others are just a figment of his imagination. Mr. Sherman helps flesh out his subject matter even more by spending time explaining Mr. Ailes throwing his weight around in his bedroom community of Garrison, New York. It's safe to say that the Fox News bully had an unhealthy oversized ego which grew out of control as he rose to higher levels of power.

The paperback edition includes an Afterword which explains many examples of sexual harassment and his rapid downfall at Fox News. The Afterword was first published in 'New York' magazine. There are no photographs in the book. Also, please take time to read Mr. Sherman's 'A Note on Sources' which is after his Acknowledgements near the back of the book. It explains the reporter's few encounters with Mr. Ailes and the push-back Mr. Sherman received while writing 'The Loudest Voice in the Room.' It is very illuminating. Sadly, viewers of Fox News will dismiss Mr. Sherman's excellent work because the propaganda station is much like an altar to them and they are the brainwashed disciples going forth to spread the conservative Fox News word. Critical thinking takes a back seat to their emotional needs. The paranoid Mr. Ailes melded his conservative philosophy and his genius for creating marketable propaganda into personal power and contributed to our country's current political dysfunction. It was a large factor in helping that bombastic turnip head from New York City win the White House. It's well worth reading.

First, I want to say that I have no party affiliation and am a registered Independent. I have always wondered why Fox News attracted many people that I know who I never would have believed could lean that way. I watch all news so I have a better feel on what is fact and what just doesn't make any sense to me. Yes, our President feels above the law and his base will never leave him. In going back in time, when Roger Ailes built Fox News, I can now see how they can manipulate anything and have loyal followers that seem to question nothing. Roger Ailes was brilliant to be sure but not in a good way. He may be gone now but people loyal to his thinking, for whatever reason, continue his work with ratings in mind. Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Bill O, Steve Bannon, and many in our current administration, scary to be sure, will never change even when they know better. The people around Trump are being indicted at an alarming rate. Where is the Republican party? Where is their Christian leader, Mitch in congress? Silent. This is what Fox News does best. Spin the facts. While all media are to blame for getting Trump elected, with their nonstop free air time, Fox is on the wrong side of history. The National Enquirer, who was in Trump's pocket, put over 20 covers on that smut featuring lies about Hillary Clinton. Maybe people didn't buy copies but they couldn't help see them in every grocery line. Like Fox, like Roger, like Trump, just keep repeating the lies and eventually they become truth to some people. Clever to be sure and is what Ailes found worked for many in our country. What happened to decency, hard facts and the courage to protect this country over party. Gone forever I believe. The Republican party is pushing further Right every day. That leaves anyone else a nobody in this country. To have to actually fight for decency and truth against a wall like the far right is shameful. You can thank Roger Ailes' "brilliance" and owners of Fox to continue in the same pattern. The loudest voices at Fox are the horrible opinion speakers. The actual news people are leaving after not being able to tolerate the lies anymore. Those news people will have a hard time gaining employment after a long stint at Fox. What does that tell you. What does it tell you when ALL the news channels are focused on the latest lies, arrests, indictments, plea deals and the crumbling Trump organization and only Fox, on an island of their own covers anything but. Unbelievable that yes, Trump could shoot someone on Broadway and not lose a single vote. If Hillary was in the White House, you would have seen Impeachment started before she even moved in. Mitch, Goudy and the gang would have been screaming like their hair was on fire. Years of Whitewater, not a single indictment. Even more years with that dastardly Goudy showing his tough side with not one single indictment. Shame on all of them. And the cost of all that!!! They belong with Trump. Totally useless to our democracy. Putin got his way, now what will we do about it? Rise up? or fall because "party" Trumped "democracy." Shame on all of them. I wish every member of government would read this book and then ask themselves what the heck they heading us toward? And WHY?

I instantly checked to see if Sherman had other books because this one was so thoroughly researched. I can only read a book a week and therefore must be selective. This was so worth my time. Social commentaries like this are rare insofar as amount of digging, reading, and interviewing that is necessary to produce what I am tempted to call a tour de force.