“Competitors Should Be Trembling That Ailes Is Entering Their Realm”

“Talk about Murdoch’s true heir,” the Chicago Tribune’s Phil Rosenthal writes in Sunday editions: “Fox News Channel boss Roger Ailes is poised to seize what he wants now” that Lachlan Murdoch “up and left daddy’s empire in a snit the other day.”

The “ultra-competitive and determined” Ailes “is in line to become chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group.” “Competitors should be trembling that Ailes is entering their realm,” Rosenthal says. “This is a man who upended practically the entire TV news business in less than nine years at Fox News Channel by combining a keen eye for talent, shrewd programming moves, a revolutionary approach to coverage and take-no-prisoners marketing. One can only guess what he plans to do with more power and greater reach.”

> John Higgins writes in this week’s B&C: “Does Ailes want to be held accountable for a business whose prospects are relatively bleak? If asked, he will probably serve. He lobbied Murdoch to name his Fox News lieutenant, Jack Abernethy, president of the TV stations last year…”

> Variety: “Heir-raising conundrum”

> Forbes includes it their week ahead: “Lachlan Murdoch has left some gaping holes at News Corp. — though plenty think his father, Rupert Murdoch, will plug them next week.”