Sirens in the Night

Roger Ailes, the impresario of reactionary populism and in many ways the ideological godfather of the current Republican nominee for President, grew up in the industrial town of Warren, Ohio, and began his career first as a cue-card holder and then as a producer for “The Mike Douglas Show.” Fascinated by the persuasive properties of television, Ailes studied not only American programming but also the films of Leni Riefenstahl. In January, 1968, when Richard Nixon appeared on the show, with hopes of reviving his national political career, Ailes saw his own path to power. Even then a person of gargantuan self-regard, Ailes informed Nixon that he was in need of a “media adviser.”