An art collective is interested in acquiring the plaque with Roger Ailes’ name after it was stripped from the wall of a WOUB newsroom earlier this week.
CultJam Productions, a postmodern film and art collective, requested the Ailes’ plaque Tuesday for an art gallery, called Les Zazous, that would open in Bellaire, about 2 1/2 hours from Athens, in November.
“I could subvert the meaning and essence of the plaque for a comical effect,” Troy Davis, co-producer of CultJam Productions, said in an email. "Post modern art (sic) usually has a whimsical tone."
Ohio University President Roderick McDavis announced Monday during a Faculty Senate meeting that Ailes’ name would be removed from a WOUB newsroom.
Ailes, an OU alumnus, donated $500,000 to the university in 2007. McDavis said during the meeting OU would return Ailes' donation.
More than 20 women accused Ailes, the former Fox News chairman and CEO, of sexual harassment.
Last week, Fox News’ parent company, 21st Century Fox, reached a $20 million settlement with Gretchen Carlson, a former Fox News anchor who sued Ailes over sexual harassment allegations in July. The company also settled with at least two other women, according to The New York Times.
Davis said OU should have “vetted” Ailes when they named the WOUB newsroom after him.
“I have some concerns with Ailes that go beyond the sexual harassment,” Davis said in an email. “There is behavior by Ailes that violates the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists."
He said he was doing online research Tuesday morning when he saw the news online about the removal of Ailes’ name.
Facilities Management took the plaque earlier this week, and it is no longer in WOUB’s possession, WOUB director and general manager Tom Hodson said.
“I do not have any idea who would make the decision (about the future of the plaque) … However, it is not WOUB’s decision to make,” Hodson said in an email.
Davis sent his request about the plaque to Robert Stewart, director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
“I don't have any particular sentiment about what happens with the plaque,” Stewart said in an email.
Stewart and Scott Titsworth, dean of the Scripps College of Communication, told Davis they would forward his request to the appropriate people. Davis said he is not sure when he will hear back about the plaque.
“I'm not too optimistic that I'll get the plaque,” Davis said in an email. "I made sure not to tell them I graduated from Miami University!"
