By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg 

Roger Ailes has a story to tell. And HarperCollins Publishers is still eager to publish it, despite Mr. Ailes's recent ouster as the head of Fox News, another branch of the Rupert Murdoch media empire.

A HarperCollins employee says the publishing house is willing to push ahead with the memoir Mr. Ailes signed on to write four years ago -- depending on how frank and compelling the manuscript proves to be when it is submitted.

Meanwhile, 21st Century Fox, the parent company of Fox News, continues to investigate accusations of sexual harassment against Mr. Ailes, which includes a lawsuit by a former anchor.

21st Century Fox and News Corp, which owns HarperCollins and The Wall Street Journal, were split in 2013 and still count the Murdoch family as a major shareholder. Mr. Murdoch, who is executive chairman of both companies, assumed the role of chairman and acting chief executive of Fox News after Mr. Ailes resigned July 21.

Long before the controversy broke out, HarperCollins and Robert Barnett, Mr. Ailes's agent, struck a book deal in 2012, according to the HarperCollins employee familiar with the situation. Mr. Ailes's memoir was envisioned as a behind-the-scenes tale that blended larger-than-life figures from the worlds of politics, business and media, this person said.

HarperCollins believes that a memoir by Mr. Ailes, who formed deep ties to the Republican establishment before building the leading cable news network, has plenty of potential commercial appeal, even though it is unclear how much Mr. Ailes would be able to say about his recent resignation.

"This book has so much potential," said the HarperCollins employee. "But you can't publish it in the middle of all this uncertainty. The legal process has to run its course, as does the election. You need time, space and perspective. Books by celebrity authors get delayed all the time."

Mr. Ailes told the Hollywood Reporter last year that he was writing his memoir for HarperCollins because he didn't want his son "to have to collect a bunch of New York Times articles to see what I was like."

His situation changed dramatically in July. Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson sued Mr. Ailes, alleging that she was fired after rejecting his sexual advances and complaining about a hostile work environment. Mr. Ailes, who has denied the allegations, resigned after agreeing to an exit package valued at more than $40 million. The number of women who have come forward to investigators to say they were also victims of Mr. Ailes has climbed into the double-digits, according to people familiar with the matter.

HarperCollins is already planning to publish a memoir by Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, which promises the scoop on her feud with Donald Trump when it comes out a week after the election. Booksellers say they are anxious to find out if the book, "Settle for More," also contains revelations regarding Mr. Ailes. Ms. Kelly has been publicly silent on Mr. Ailes's resignation, but New York Magazine reported in mid-July that she told investigators that he made unwanted advances toward her years earlier, which he has denied.

It couldn't be learned whether Mr. Ailes's deal to exit Fox News includes a nondisclosure agreement that prevents him from publicly discussing his departure. A spokesman for 21st Century Fox declined to comment on the terms of Mr. Ailes's exit.

Mr. Barnett declined to comment. A lawyer for Mr. Ailes didn't respond to a request for comment, and Mr. Ailes didn't respond to a written request for an interview.

Mr. Ailes, a veteran television producer and political consultant who worked with former Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, led the launch of the Fox News Channel in 1996. He helped build the network into the country's most-watched cable news network while playing a key role in the careers of such Fox News stars as Bill O'Reilly and Ms. Kelly.

Mr. Ailes's first book, "You Are the Message," was written with Jon Kraushar and published in 1987 by Irwin Professional Publishing, an imprint owned by McGraw-Hill Education.

Write to Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg at jeffrey.trachtenberg@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 18, 2016 13:04 ET (17:04 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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