NEW YORK — Fox News Channel is parting ways with former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, ending her three-year tenure as a contributor on the network.
While Palin’s time at Fox was occasionally rocky, the network’s news executive, Bill Shine, said last week that “we have thoroughly enjoyed our association" with her.
A person familiar with discussions between Fox and Palin but not authorized to speak on the record described the parting as amicable, saying that Fox and Palin had discussed renewing her contract, but she decided to do other things.
Palin’s last appearance on Fox News was Dec. 19 on Greta Van Susteren’s show.
Palin signed to deliver commentary on Fox in January 2010, reportedly for $1 million a year. It was a coup for both sides at the time; the former Alaska governor was a little more than a year removed from her attention-getting run for the vice presidency and was considered one of the leading contenders for the 2012 presidential nomination.
At Fox, she had a platform on the most popular network for conservative viewers. Fox installed equipment in Palin’s Wasilla, Alaska, home to make her regular appearances easier.
But there were some indications of tension between her and Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes, who was quoted in a 2011 story by The Associated Press saying, “I hired Sarah Palin because she was hot and got ratings."
Four years removed from her vice presidential candidacy, Palin’s influence had waned and she was somewhat overshadowed as a contributor at Fox by Karl Rove, former President George W. Bush’s top political aide. Rove recently renewed his contract at Fox through the 2016 election.
With four more years of a Barack Obama administration in power, Fox recently hired former Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich as a contributor.
