<p>Roger Ailes, founder and CEO of <em>Fox News</em>, passed away Thursday morning at age 77.</p>
<p>&#8220;The secret to life,&#8221; Roger once said, &#8220;is to find something you love to do and find somebody that&rsquo;ll pay you to do it.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Roger&#8217;s passion was television. He landed his first TV job (with &ldquo;The Mike Douglas Show&rdquo;) in 1962, shortly after graduating from Ohio University. He was an executive producer by age 25.</p>
<p>Roger went on to become president of CNBC, where he more than quintupled the network&#8217;s profits and found stars like Maria Bartiromo and Chris Matthews.</p>
<p>Three years later, he was selected by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch to launch <em>Fox News</em> &#8211; a channel they saw as a necessary alternative to a media dominated by liberals. Roger launched the channel in 1996 and built it into the most-watched US cable news network.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Roger and I shared a big idea which he executed in a way no one else could have. In addition, Roger was a great patriot who never ceased fighting for his beliefs,&rdquo; said Murdoch. &ldquo;A brilliant broadcaster, Roger played a huge role in shaping America&rsquo;s media over the last 30 years. He will be remembered by the many people on both sides of the camera he discovered, nurtured, and promoted.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Data from 2014 shows <em>Fox News</em> as the most profitable division of its parent company (21st Century Fox), earning $1.1 billion in profits that year.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Long before<em> Fox News</em>, Ailes was a Republican operative who saw long before most what television could do for the party,&rdquo; reports CNN.</p>
<p>Roger worked as executive TV producer for President Richard Nixon, worked on Ronald Reagan&rsquo;s re-election campaign, and was a key player in George HW Bush&rsquo;s presidential campaign. He spoke regularly with Donald Trump during his presidential campaign and attended prep sessions before Trump&rsquo;s debates with Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>Roger&rsquo;s career in entertainment, politics, and news spanned more than five decades and affected millions. He left <em>Fox News</em> last summer amid charges of sexual harassment, which he denied.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Today, America lost one of its great patriotic warriors,&rdquo; tweeted Sean Hannity on Thursday. &ldquo;He has dramatically and forever changed the political and the media landscape, single-handedly for the better.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> It&#8217;s a shame Mr. Ailes died without being able to defend himself against the sexual harrassment allegations. His impact on America was profound, and in my opinion profoundly good.</p>