Fox Suspends 2012 Hopefuls Newt, Santorum

Fox News has suspended contributors Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum for 60 days, because they’ve “signaled possible runs for the presidency,” anchor Bret Baier announced today. The two will have until May 1 to declare whether they’re running. If they don’t announce either way by then, their contracts will be terminated, according to Politico. Baier said the suspensions were “Fox policy.”

But wait, if it’s “Fox policy,” then wouldn’t the network want to suspend, say, Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee, too? “This is the announcement that’s being made today,” Baier said. “It does not preclude other announcements that may be made in the future.” The liberal group Media Matters estimates that Fox gave potential presidential contenders 85 hours of free airtime last year, the equivalent of about $54.7 million in ads. (More Fox News stories.)