Sarah Palin Parts Ways With Fox News
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(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
BY CHRISTIAN BRYANT
Former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is calling it quits with Fox News.
A source close to Palin told Real Clear Politics the self-proclaimed “Mama-Grizzly” wasn’t canned by the cable news network, but left on her own terms:
“It’s my understanding that Gov. Palin was offered a contract by FOX, and she decided not to renew the arrangement... She remains focused on broadening her message of common-sense conservatism across the country and will be expanding her voice in the national discussion.”
Palin resigned as governor and joi ned Fox News in 2009. But sources note it’s been a long three years in the Palin/Fox News courtship.
Palin was a go-to contributor on Fox News and in 2010, the news network constructed a studio inside of Palin’s Alaska home. Her husband, Todd, served as cameraman and producer during her on-air appearances.
Fox chief Roger Ailes told reporters back in 2011 he hired Palin because, at the time, “she was hot and got ratings.”
But Palin’s relationships cooled within the network and news of her disagreements sometimes made it on air.
The Atlantic Wire reports Palin had a spat with Fox contributor Karl Rove in 2011 when she was debating whether to run for President, saying Rove might have harmed her chances by speculating on her presidential ambitions.
In return, Rove had some less-than-flattering advice for Palin on their own network.
“If she doesn’t want to be speculated about as a potential presidential candidate, there’s an easy way to end speculation: just say ‘I’m not running.’ … It is a sign of enormous thin skin that if we speculate about her she gets upset...”
Just last August, Palin took to Facebook to reportedly vent about Fox News cancelling her interviews at the Republican National Convention.
A writer for New York Magazine said Fox allowing Palin to walk displays just how much tension was at play within the network: “Palin was the rarest of Fox News pundit, who refused to march in lockstep with the network's orders. From her erratic Facebook posts to her rogue interviews with non-Fox media, Palin was a polarizing presence and a management challenge for Roger Ailes.”
But Fox News wasn’t her only gig. Palin starred in the reality series Sarah Palin’s Alaska on TLC for one season. The show was cancelled due to low-ratings.
Sources report Palin’s contract with Fox News was worth $ 1 million, making her the highest paid contributor.
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