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I hired Sarah Palin because she was hot and got ratings.

Roger Ailes

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Roger Ailes
Age: 77 †
Born: 1940
Born: May 15
Died: 2017
Died: May 18
Businessperson
Politician
Television Producer
Warren
Ohio
Roger Eugene Ailes
Hot
Ratings
Sarah
Rating
Hired
Palin

More quotes by Roger Ailes

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I only understand friendship or scorched earth.
Roger Ailes
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When the media gets into creating their own product and then deciding to cover it, they are becoming part of the process and, therefore, could be damaged.
Roger Ailes
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The thing you always have to remember is, you look at people and they might look like a failure but there's often a narrow thing they do very well.
Roger Ailes
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I think it's because I'm unpredictable. I view every situation, every race, and every candidate differently I try not to rely on something that worked before.
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Almost everything I do is related to my ability to hire good people. I don't take much of the credit myself. I think I have a good eye.
Roger Ailes
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Phrase it in an interesting way don't phrase it in a mean or unfriendly way. Bob Dole said that if there's anything he would have done differently, he would have said [to George Bush] Start telling the truth about my record instead of Stop lying about my record. Frankly, had he done that, life might be different for Bob Dole today.
Roger Ailes
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If you want to get unpaid media coverage, you had better be quotable. It's an interesting problem, because very few candidates are quotable.
Roger Ailes
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You never pull the trigger until you know you can win.
Roger Ailes
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If you are a good communicator, be unique: put yourself in your own commercials and do something a little different. To the extent you can focus on what it is you want to change, what it is you know how to change, and what it is you think will make life better for other people, you're going to do better.
Roger Ailes
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Candidates rarely win battles with the media, and unless you really know what you're doing you should not tangle with them. The exception is when you know this is a search-and- destroy mission on the part of the media and your case is very strong, you are very articulate, you know what you're trying to accomplish - and you have no alternatives.
Roger Ailes
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One of the reasons I'm in this business is because I have absolute respect for the people who say, You know what? I think I can make this a little better and I'm willing to get in and try. Because, I'll tell you, there are a hell of a lot of reasons to stay away from running for office today.
Roger Ailes
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Fighting with the media almost always is a mistake. You can't win the argument, the media has the last word, and most times your argument is not justified.
Roger Ailes
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Growing up in Ohio and just being kind of an average guy from flyover country - my dad was a factory guy - I try to put things on a screen that reflect reality. I don't mind if people want to argue with that, or think that's crazy.
Roger Ailes
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You can get people the qualifications But you can't teach them the qualities they're going to need. You can't teach integrity, a drive for excellence, refusal to quit under pressure. It's too late to build that into people you're going to hire.
Roger Ailes
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Reporters may be friendly-but if you get through life without having a reporter as a friend, that may be an advantage. If you insist on having one as a friend, don't do interviews with him.
Roger Ailes
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I think the media is dangerously close to creating their own product. They used to cover the product, which was whatever's happening.
Roger Ailes
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The candidates that can’t face Fox, can’t face al Qaeda.
Roger Ailes
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In general, I think man-on-the- street ads and endorsement spots are having less and less effect on people. The electorate's getting very sophisticated, and they want to make their own judgments.
Roger Ailes
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Obama's the one who never worked a day in his life. He never earned a penny that wasn't public money. How many fund-raisers does he attend every week? How often does he play basketball and golf? I wish I had that kind of time.
Roger Ailes
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Everybody who's in the news business today was influenced in a positive way by Walter Cronkite. He had ability, humility and integrity, a rare combination.
Roger Ailes