Producer Will Cohen on the Fox News founder who helped create our current political landscape

Prizes Exec Director Abi Wright in conversation with Producer Will Cohen.

Prizes Exec Director Abi Wright in conversation with Producer Will Cohen.

“I've worked on many projects of sensitive material and I've never encountered an environment as hermetic as Fox. I've never had more people start conversations by asking, ‘are you recording this conversation?’”

In this episode of On Assignment, Producer Will Cohen talks about making Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes, about the man who founded Fox News, kicked off #MeToo, and helped elect Donald Trump.

Cohen talks about the challenges  he and Director Alexis Bloom faced in this film, including navigating access to Fox News; profiling a dead man whose on-camera appearances were rare;  landing tough interviews, and how to focus such a complicated story.

But, Cohen explains, the film wasn’t just about Ailes. “It was about using Roger's story to try to make sense of where we were as a country...it gave us a point of entry to a difficult, complicated, national moment,” says Cohen, providing important context to our current political and media landscape.

Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes opens in theaters on Dec 7, when it will also be available on iTunes, Amazon and other streaming services.

Tune in for the full conversation.

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