- Brian Lewis: Look at this. Hot off the press, tomorrow's edition. Listen to this. "Some stories, lacking facts, never catch fire, but others do. And a newspaper like the Times needs to be alert to them, lest it wind up looking clueless or worse, partisan."
- [laughing with Roger]
- Brian Lewis: You son of a bitch. You did it.
- Joe Lindsley: What?
- Brian Lewis: Well, it's like a game, Joe. It's like baseball. See, first base, we find the ACORN story. Right? We put it out there.
- Joe Lindsley: Uh-huh.
- Brian Lewis: Second base, everyone else picks up the story. Our story.
- Joe Lindsley: But it's... it's a fake story. There is...
- Roger Ailes: Who said it was fake?
- Brian Lewis: Doesn't matter if it's real or fake. Third base, the New York Times, the paper of record, says that if a lot of people are talking about a story, it has to be important. And, real or not, they have to cover it. Finally, a Democratic Congress just defunded ACORN without a single investigation because of us. That's a home fucking run.
- Roger Ailes: We created that, Joe. We don't follow the news. We make the news. We're changing the world.
- Brian Lewis: I don't know about you guys, I'm getting a drink.
- Roger Ailes: Joe, I grew up in small-town America. I knew the names of all my neighbors. Never even thought to lock the door at night. I want Garrison to be that kind of town. But the people who live there...
- Beth Ailes: Liberals. Balding hippies.
- Roger Ailes: Let's just say, you know, they need to be educated.
- Joe Lindsley: Thomas Jefferson said, "Education is the only sure alliance for the preservation of our liberty."
- Beth Ailes: Oh, I love that.
- Roger Ailes: So?
- Beth Ailes: Are you interested?
- Joe Lindsley: In...
- Beth Ailes: Becoming our editor-in-chief.
- Roger Ailes: Garrison... is a microcosm of America. In these dark times, with this president, we gotta rebuild America from the ground up.
- Joe Lindsley: I am honored to help in any way that I can.
- David Axelrod: Look, we can work together on this. Quid pro quo. You promise to back off, we'll reinstate your press access...
- Roger Ailes: With an apology.
- David Axelrod: ...grant you a couple of exclusive interviews with the president, but we select the reporters.
- Roger Ailes: Does your guy not understand that he doesn't get to pick and choose his coverage? That a free press does not necessarily mean a favorable press? Does he get that?
- David Axelrod: And... you get Hannity, O'Reilly, and Beck to ease up. Especially Beck. That man is unhinged.
- Roger Ailes: Unhinged? You're the one who works for the guy who wants to create a national police force.
- David Axelrod: You... you can't be serious. Where did you hear that?
- Roger Ailes: He spoke about it.
- David Axelrod: Roger, he's never said anything like that ever.
- Roger Ailes: That's what I heard.
- David Axelrod: I'm asking you as a friend to pull back.
- Roger Ailes: And I'm telling you as a friend... no.
- Judy Laterza: Happy birthday.
- Roger Ailes: Thank you, Judy. What a beautiful cake. Hmm. 69 years old. You know, my doctor tells me I'm old and I'm fat and I'm ugly, but none of those things are gonna kill me straightaway.
- Bill Shine: The White House is furious about Beck. They're freezing out Chris Wallace from Sunday's presidential interviews.
- Roger Ailes: Fuck these people. You know what? Tell Beck we're gonna run that fucking video.
- Bill Shine: Will do.
- Glenn Beck: [later, as his show goes on the air] The activist group with strong ties to President Barack Obama, ACORN - the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Reform? Government-funded radicals who take your hard-earned tax dollars and hand it out like candy. In fact, we've got proof of them encouraging prostitution and covering it up so the government never knows. Let's take a quick look, and then we'll break it down. This was captured by some hard-working, brave journalists who went undercover to ACORN at great risk.
- Richard Shea: At least you used a flattering photograph. Richard Shea.
- Joe Lindsley: [shaking hands] Um... Joe Lindsley.
- Richard Shea: Oh, I know. This is my son Bobby. Well, your boss knows how to raise a stink. It doesn't seem to matter if it's true or not.
- Joe Lindsley: I stand by our reporting.
- Richard Shea: I'm doing what's right for our community. The zoning statutes are a simple way...
- Joe Lindsley: An infringement on property rights. Did you know that the original draft of the Declaration of Independence talked about life, liberty, and the pursuit of property?
- Richard Shea: And then they re-wrote it.
- Joe Lindsley: The... look, my job is to report the issues.
- Richard Shea: Your job is to carry water for your boss. Ailes is just mad at me 'cause I wouldn't give him a zoning exemption.
- Joe Lindsley: That's not true. This is... this is an issue of...
- Richard Shea: Ask him.
- Brian Lewis: [watching President Obama on TV] He's calling us out publicly.
- Roger Ailes: Yeah, good. That means we're getting into his head. Just gotta intensify the pressure.
- Brian Lewis: Roger, this is not CNN, okay? This is the White House. We have to be strategic here. Rupert was very clear that we're...
- Roger Ailes: Come on, come on. Fuck Rupert. Fuck this White House. I fought for editorial control, and I intend to use it. If this Barry guy... "Barry O.", "my bro," whatever the fuck his name is, if he wants a fight, okay, I'm good.
- Brian Lewis: All right, we'll... we'll war-game it later, see how it plays.
- Roger Ailes: Read me what you got.
- Joe Lindsley: Um... "Richard Shea and his proposed scenic protection overlay is actually an assault on property rights. His misguided attempt at sustainable living is nothing more than socioeconomic cleansing, driving out local businesses at the behest of outside environmental activists."
- Roger Ailes: That's pretty good. Write this down, write this down. Um... "One aggrieved resident said, 'My family and my business are threatened by a special-interest group interfering with my private property rights'."
- Joe Lindsley: Who said that?
- Roger Ailes: I did.
- Joe Lindsley: Mr. Ailes, it's unethical to... to make up quotes.
- Roger Ailes: You're not making it up, Joe. I just said it. I said it. I'm a resident. I'm aggrieved.
- Joe Lindsley: It's really close to the line.
- Roger Ailes: Joe, lines... are for suckers. Throw the punch, put in the quote, and publish.
- Brian Lewis: Okay, we say Beck's views do not represent the views of Fox News or News Corp, and then we figure out what the fuck to do with him.
- Bill Shine: Have you seen his numbers? We should give him *more* airtime.
- Roger Ailes: [coming in] What's all the ruckus?
- Brian Lewis: Beck straight-up called Obama a racist on "Fox & Friends."
- Roger Ailes: Well, he's not wrong.
- Brian Lewis: Jesus Christ, Roger. We can't just say that. Okay, we have to put out a statement. We have to get ahead of this.
- Roger Ailes: Okay, fine. But, you know, let's just not rise to the occasion when there's no occasion. Just to be clear, we're fully committed to Glenn, we're fully committed to his show.
- Brian Lewis: "Fair and balanced" doesn't mean a whole lot when one of your stars calls the president a racist. Okay, it makes it a little hard to protect the brand.
- Roger Ailes: I'll decide what the brand is. You put out the fires. I'll talk to Glenn. Racist? He just called him a racist?
- Brian Lewis: Yeah, that's what he said.
- Roger Ailes: [trying to stifle laughter] He's a funny guy.
- Joe Lindsley: [bringing Roger his medical pills] What are those for?
- Roger Ailes: Uh... clotting factor. I'm a hemophiliac.
- Joe Lindsley: Seriously?
- Roger Ailes: I wasn't supposed to live past my teens. Spent a lot of my childhood in hospitals. Hanging upside down trying to get the blood to flow. But my dad wouldn't hear it. Pushed me just as hard as any other kid. What about you? How do you get on with your old man?
- Joe Lindsley: My dad... wasn't into bonding. Sometimes he would come home... everything was just wrong. And I... I had to deal with that.
- Roger Ailes: My dad would reach for his belt at the drop of a hat. I'd cry and cry. It took me a long time to realize that crying wouldn't make him stop. He would keep going until I stopped crying. Know what it looks like when you beat a hemophiliac kid? It's not good. Eh. All for the best. Made me tough. Life is struggle, Joe. Never forget that. It's a fight, it's a con, it's a grudge match, and it's a game. The only important thing is... that you win. Why don't you get some sleep? You and I... we got a lot of work to do.
- Roger Ailes: Now, I bet you're sitting there thinking, "What the hell am I doing here?"
- Joe Lindsley: Uh, the thought had crossed my mind, sir.
- Roger Ailes: Well, now, you see, Joe, recently, Beth and I purchased a local newspaper upstate.
- Beth Ailes: In Garrison, where we live.
- Roger Ailes: The Putnam County News and Recorder. Now, I'm a TV guy. Don't know a damn thing about newspapers, so I reached out to Marty Singerman, and in turn, he reached out to you. And you put together that list of conservative editors that might run the paper. I liked that list a lot.
- Joe Lindsley: Thank you, sir.
- Beth Ailes: And you went to Notre Dame?
- Joe Lindsley: That's right. I started my own paper there because I felt the Notre Dame Observer skewed too liberal.
- Roger Ailes: I tell you, Joe, this story is gonna be huge.
- Joe Lindsley: Yes, but is it news?
- Roger Ailes: It's newsworthy. We report, they decide, remember?
- Joe Lindsley: But it's been manipulated. We can't even see the journalist in the room, it's selectively edited...
- Roger Ailes: Ah, maybe this is one of those moments when your idealism runs into a wall called knowledge. You trying to tell me you don't think the New York Times is selectively edited every single goddamned day? Hmm? Bias... is everywhere. That's the way it works. And we try and shine a light on corruption... anywhere we find it.
- Joe Lindsley: I guess.
- Roger Ailes: No. No guessing. No equivocation. That's the way it is. It's like your work with the paper. You've expanded that conversation. Now everybody in the town knows about Shea and his zoning issues. That's down to you. You got a big future in this business, son.
- Roger Ailes: [watching David Axelrod on TV] This is bullshit. This White House hates America, hates capitalism, hates anyone who's not in lockstep with their way of thinking. We're not gonna put up with it. We're not gonna roll over for these fuckers. Every time they bring up a talking point, we're gonna counter it. They say "progressive," we're gonna say "socialist." They say "safety net," we're gonna say "welfare cheat." They say "healthcare," we're gonna say "fucking death panels." Just push the message: socialist. Muslim. Un-American. Just keep hitting those things over and over again, keep hitting them. You know, we don't even have any fucking proof that Obama is a citizen.
- Bill Shine: Did you feed that to Trump? He was just on "The View" questioning Obama's birth certificate.
- Roger Ailes: We might have had a dinner. Which reminds me, get Donald a spot on "Fox & Friends." He's always good for ratings.
- Bill Shine: You know he's been making noises about running for president again.
- Roger Ailes: Well, that makes it even better. Fuck you, Axelrod. Fuck that guy.
- Gretchen Carlson: Did you see that downstairs? Doocy's out of control. He grabbed my arm on air to try to get me to shut up. And you know this isn't an isolated incident. He's been doing it for years, and I'm sick of it.
- Roger Ailes: Hmm. Good morning, Gretchen. Perhaps he was just trying to get a word in. You know, you... are more than capable of rising above this.
- Gretchen Carlson: Yeah, but, Roger, this is something...
- Roger Ailes: Gretchen, Gretchen, you're Miss America. How would Miss America handle this? With grace, charm. You'd smile, give a little twirl, wouldn't you? So let's see it. Why don't we see a little Miss America twirl?
- [leaving, she twirls around once]
- Roger Ailes: The high road, Gretchen. Always the high road.
- David Axelrod: Let's call a truce.
- Roger Ailes: Why? We're winning.
- David Axelrod: Mmm, I don't think so.
- Roger Ailes: Well, I think you fucked it up. I think you pushed too hard and you did us a favor. We got every news organization on our side. Even Jake Tapper is defending us. Journalists look after their own.
- David Axelrod: When you met with the president during the election, you promised you weren't out to get him, gave your word...
- Roger Ailes: I didn't meet with the president that day. Don't mistake me for Rupert Murdoch. I've never said we won't cover what's there, like this ACORN thing.
- David Axelrod: Exactly my point. You created that out of thin air. Spun a web of controversy where none existed.
- Roger Ailes: We didn't create ACORN. We covered it. ACORN is an organization riddled with corruption, and it's about time that Congress and the American people heard about it.
- David Axelrod: You really believe that?
- Roger Ailes: Not a matter of what I believe. It's the truth.
- Roger Ailes: Well, you certainly know how to get people's attention.
- Glenn Beck: Well, it needed to be said. People can look at the evidence and decide for themselves. You gonna fire me?
- Roger Ailes: Not even close. But we do have to put out a statement saying that your views are "not necessarily the opinions of Fox News," yadda yadda yadda, but don't worry, I've got your back.
- Glenn Beck: I appreciate that. I got a new video from Breitbart which will totally blow the lid off Obama's attempt...
- Roger Ailes: Slow down, Glenn. One crisis at a time. Just let's let this silly racist thing blow over and... hmm?
- Joe Lindsley: And it escalated from there. Other folks joining in, folks getting heated. I thought... I thought they were gonna call the cops.
- Roger Ailes: That Shea is such a drama queen.
- Joe Lindsley: He seemed like a nice guy.
- Roger Ailes: Oh, yeah, nice guy, like Stalin was a nice guy. Hey, he's got kids of his own. Didn't stop him butchering 40 million people.
- Zac Ailes: That's a lot of people.
- Beth Ailes: Roger.
- Roger Ailes: What? It happened. I'm supposed to say it didn't happen? Stalin, Russian. Bad people.
- Joe Lindsley: Shea seems to think that, um, the zoning issue is personal with you.
- Roger Ailes: Yeah, just like it is for every single citizen in this town. It's personal. You're shaking things up, Joe. Just like a newsman is supposed to. That's great.
- Roger Ailes: Listen to me, Joe. There is a whole world of people out there who don't know what to believe. They're so twisted up by the liberal media, they don't even know who the good guys are anymore. Now, you tell those people what to think, you've lost them. But if you tell them how to *feel*, they're yours. I started this network with nothing. Everybody just going around saying, "Roger Ailes, he's not a news guy, Roger Ailes is gonna fail," just laughing at me. Take a good look around this room. These people, they keep us on the air. They're laughing all the way to the bank.
- Joe Lindsley: But journalism...
- Roger Ailes: Is history. Yes, son. And history gets written by the winners. And we... we are winning.