Roger Ailes was “livid” when Sarah Palin announced that she wouldn’t be running for president.
The Fox News president wasn’t angry about the decision itself though; rather Ailes was furious that Palin made the October 5th announcement on Mark Levin’s talk-radio program instead of giving the network that employs her an exclusive.
New York Magazine is reporting that after the announcement, Ailes called Fox’s executive VP BIll Shine who serves as the networks principal point of contact with Palin. “I paid her for two years to make this announcement on my network,” Ailes told Shine, dispatching him to convey his displeasure to the former Alaskan governor.
Sources told NY Mag that Palin made the announcement on Levin’s show because she’s been upset that Fox News has given Karl Rove a platform from which to criticize her.
In the aftermath of the debacle, Shine spoke with Palin and threatened to “bench” her. Palin later apologized, and Shine told Ailes that she recognized her mistake.
Palin’s contract with the network expires in 2013.
