gabe sherman does not pull his punches. and i think there's going to be if i know fox news there's going to be a bit of a concerted campaign against gabe sherman. >> i don't think so. i think it started already. >> i think there's going to be some response. largely they'll ignore it. i don't think there's a moral expectation about tv executives and fox news. the people that like fox news don't like it because they think roger ailes is a good guy. i think that continue s people who hate fox news will just have more ammunition to hate fox news. so i don't think you'll see a large shift in how the public responds to this. i don't think people will be disappointed in fox news. they don't expect much. >> seems to me if these are the juiciest bits in this book it's pretty thin gruel. this just in. [ overlapping speakers ] >> hang on. it's not just the way i've described it. there is a pretty serious allegation in there that television producer randi haroldson said while negotiating her salary he negotiated 100 pounds a week extra

gabe sherman, you've certainly rocked a a few boats and ruffled a few feathers with this book.ou surprised, or is it exactly what you expected? >> thanks for having me. anyone who's covered roger ailes knows he's the most combative man in the american media. and going into this, i knew it was going to be a very challenging reporting assignment, but i did not know how challenging it would be. it has been the toughest, most brutal reporting experience of my career. >> tell me, ways the point of the book? and why should we take roger ailes so seriously? why is he not just a very clever guy running a very successful cable news show, which actually is watched by 3 million or say, 315 million americans. why put him on a pedestal of power? >> that's a great, fascinating question. and it gets to the heart of this book. the reason i reported this book is that roger ailes speaks to every single american, whether they watch fox or not. his ability to frame the news and drive a message is so powerful through fox that he is affecting every single news story, whether viewers watch fox or not

sherman joins me now here in the studio and gabe, thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> a lot of people have heard this notion ailes is the most powerful man in media but we hear that quote and you describing him as someone that can get inside our heads. what led you to those conclusions? >> brian, this as you mentioned was three years in the making. i talked to more than 600 people to provide this account. it is exhaustive. what i learned and changed my mind, this process changed me, i've been covering media for a decade as you've been covering media and fox is a dominant cable news network but what i learned is that romger ailes has created a political operation that employs journalists. and i'll tell you, it exists for two reasons. to generate as much profit as possible for its corporate parent rupert murdoch and advance the personal, political agenda of its founder roger ailes. >> it's a news channel but also a political machine. >> i'm saying it's a political machine that employs journalists. >> is it a news channel at all in your mind? >> that's for other people to

gabe gutierrez, nbc news, atlanta. >> well, we'll shift gears now. never expected on a date. >> the super bowl between the broncos and seahawks is in two weeks. on wednesday shermanced the media given. >> reporter: if we are just talking statistics, the seahawks are lucky to have sherman. butch his comments after clinching a berth in the super bowl have made him a rising topic off the field. and now sherman himself is speaking out. >> if i would have really known it was going to blow up like that, i probably would have approached it differently. >> and the seahawks are going to the super bowl. >> what blew up was sherman's temper, unleashed minutes after the seahawks won the championship game. the play he's talking about, this one, a game saver, when here blocked a pass intended for 49ers receiver michael crabtree. >> picked off! >> that ended the game. sherman said he tried to shake crabtree's hand and was pushed away. sherman now apologizes for the comments and said he got caught up in the moment. the 25-year-old football star went on to compare his style to mohamed ali and deion sanders. both well known athletes and trash talkers. but it's the word used by she