Fox Chief 'Fed Up With Palin'

Fox News chief says he was concerned about ratings, not politics

(NEWSER) - In an interview with the AP about the 15th anniversary of Fox News, Roger Ailes has set off a mini-tizzy with this line about Sarah Palin: "I hired Sarah Palin because she was hot and got ratings." He was deflecting criticism that the channel is politically biased—as in, he hired her for ratings, not her politics. Samples of how it's playing:

• "The "quote is stunning in its own right, but it’s worth noting that were it coming from a progressive figure, he would likely be immediately tarred and feathered by conservatives as a sexist," writes Alex Seitz-Wald at Think Progress .

Her refusal to heed Fox boss triggered rift

(NEWSER) - Fox News president Roger Ailes warned Sarah Palin not to launch her controversial "blood libel" defense of herself in the wake of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' shooting. Palin's refusal to take his advice created a major rift in their important relationship, reports New York magazine. “Lie low,” Ailes told Palin in phone call when she informed him of her plan. “There’s no need to inject yourself into the story.” “The Tucson thing was horrible,” said a source close to Ailes. "Before she responded, she was making herself look like a victim. She was winning. She went out and did the blood libel thing, and Roger is thinking, 'Why did you call me for advice?'” More»

Ailes knows nobody better defines the America Fox serves

(NEWSER) - Roger Ailes "is a genius" and hiring Sarah Palin is his latest masterstroke—even if she never says anything interesting on Fox News. Ailes’ rivals at other networks “still hire talent for their abilities,” explains Michael Scherer of Time . “Ailes knows you can also hire talent for who they anger, who they unite, and what they represent.” More»

Fox News shifts towards center, plays up GOP's 2012 conflict

(NEWSER) - Is Fox News going moderate? Not exactly, but Roger Ailes has consciously made a “course correction” from hyper-partisanship back toward the center, sensing that the public has grown weary of the Tea Party, he tells Howard Kurtz of Newsweek . Glenn Beck’s inflammatory rhetoric in particular “became a bit of a branding issue for us,” he says, as did Sarah Palin's use of her Fox platform to promote herself as a possible GOP savior. More»

If she doesn't like speculation, she can end it, he points out

(NEWSER) - The Karl Rove-Sarah Palin feud continues: Last night on Fox News, Rove called Palin “thin-skinned” a grand total of four times before being abruptly cut off for a breaking news update. Greta van Susteren repeatedly tried to get Rove onto a different track—she wanted to know why the media keeps speculating about Palin’s potential 2012 run—but Rove kept coming back to the SarahPAC statement that attacked him for his own speculation (and more speculation ). “I’m mystified,” he told van Susteren. “She is all upset about this, saying I’m somehow trying to sabotage her in some way, and how dare I speculate on her future. Look, if she doesn’t want to be speculated about as a potential presidential candidate, there’s an easy way to end the speculation, simply say ‘I’m not running.’” More»