Ailes Sells Putnam Newspapers: End of a Media Empire

Elizabeth and Roger Ailes have sold their Putnam County newspapers, their last bit of media empire, to their editor and associate publisher, Doug Cunningham.

Both the Putnam County Courier and the News and Recorder have changed hands for an undisclosed sum. On the PCNR website, the company said the sale is to close this week.

"I want to thank the loyal family of readers and advertisers that support these fine papers," Elizabeth Ailes said in the article. "I also want to recognize the dedication and talent of the staff."

According to the article, Elizabeth Ailes considered the papers, which she has owned and run for almost a decade, to be the capstone of her media career in broadcast and cable TV.

Editorially, the two papers, specially the PCNR, became conduits for the Ailes' right-wing political and social views, and took combative stands on local issues against community members in and around Cold Spring, a liberal bastion in a conservative county. Foes and neighbors even started a parody website called the Pretend Putnam County News and Recorder.

It has been a year of retreat for the Aileses.

Roger Ailes resigned his position as chairman and acting CEO of Fox News July 21, following claims he sexually harassed female anchors, including Gretchen Carlson, who filed a lawsuit that said he made sexual advances toward her and didn't renew her contract after she refused them. His resignation ended his reign as one of the most powerful and influential figures in the news media.

He was to have had a new senior center named after him near the couple's compound in Garrison; but opposition to the county's plans led him in August to withdraw his offer to give $500,000 to the senior center and have his non-profit act as its general contractor.

After he left Fox, stories surfaced that he had hired consultants and political operatives to go after his enemies, including the former editor of The Putnam County News & Recorder.

According to a report in New York magazine, Joe Lindsley argued with the Aileses and left the paper in 2011. Ailes had private investigators follow Lindsley around Putnam County, asked a colleague at Fox for a report on Lindsley, and had one of the consultants on the Black Room payroll post negative comments about Lindsley online. Roger Ailes' attorney Susan Estrich said the allegations about such an operation were false.

SEE: Roger Ailes Used Fox Funds to Target Former Editor

New York magazine reported that the Aileses were offering the money-losing papers to staffers for $100,000. The magazine speculated that the couple may have changed their plans to retire in Putnam County, reporting that they recently bought a mansion in Palm Beach.

Also on Tuesday, another sexual harassment allegation against Roger Ailes hit the news when a Fox 5 reporter sued the company, according to news reports.