Plans to toilet paper the News Corporation headquarters on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan should be put on hold: The building has a nonstop NYPD security detail, the Daily Beast reports, making Fox News the most well-protected of the major news networks, which are all neighbors in New York City. The investigation says that while ABC, CBS, and NBC pay for their own security, Fox News and co.’s protection could cost taxpayers $500,000 annually, according to a “conservative estimate” from one security expert. “Each of the networks gets police coverage to varying extents based on threat information,” said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.
The NYPD did not provide specific information regarding threats made to the News Corp. building, but the Daily Beast says the “paranoia” of Fox News boss Roger Ailes, who works in the building, could explain the special caution. “I don’t know why a terrorist, domestic or international, would target Fox News. I can’t even begin to imagine,” said a former Fox News employee (who was fired). “I really think we’re talking about Roger Ailes’ physical person. I think it’s Roger worried about what’s going to happen to him.”
The article cites previous reports of Ailes worrying, including his belief “that he has personally been targeted by Al Qaeda for assassination,” as well as his post-9/11 trauma, which led him to the realization that “he and his network could be terrorist targets.”
“I would love the special favors,” said an ABC News guy. And the ratings, too, probably.
