Palin's Next Stop (and Paycheck): Fox News

Newt claims Fox News has been shilling for Romney all along

(NEWSER) - Newt Gingrich is not happy with his former employer , Fox News, which he accused yesterday of backing Mitt Romney since the beginning of the Republican nomination race. "Callista and I both believe CNN is less biased than Fox this year," he said at a private meeting of Delaware Tea Party activists attended by Real Clear Politics . "We are more likely to get neutral coverage out of CNN than we are of Fox, and we’re more likely to get distortion out of Fox. That’s just a fact. … I assume it’s because [Rupert] Murdoch at some point said, 'I want Romney,' and so 'fair and balanced' became 'Romney.'" More»

Roger Ailes furious that decision not to run wasn't announced on network

(NEWSER) - Fox News chief Roger Ailes was furious when Sarah Palin decided to announce her non-candidacy outside of the network, sources tell New York . Ailes—who grumbled that he "paid her for two years to make this announcement on my network"—was so angry that he considered yanking Palin off the air until her $1 million-a-year contract expires in 2013, the sources say. More»

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 .

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»

'New York' profiles Fox News boss

(NEWSER) - In the wake of President Obama’s 2008 win, Roger Ailes successfully built up Fox News’ ratings and raked in $900 million last year—but he still hasn’t found a 2012 candidate to throw his weight behind, according to an extensive New York magazine cover story. “You can’t run for the Republican nomination without talking to Roger,” one source tells author Gabriel Sherman, who the Daily Beast notes is writing a book on Fox News. “Every single candidate has consulted with Roger,” but he’s not impressed with any of them. “He finds flaws in every one,” says another source—particularly Sarah Palin. More»