Sarah Palin signs on as Fox News Channel commentator

Matea Gold and Mark Z. Barabak Los Angeles Times 01/11/2010 19:21

When Sarah Palin abruptly stepped down as Alaska governor in July before the end of her first term, many questioned how she could maintain a national presence without the platform of elected office. That hasn't proven a problem for the onetime Republican vice presidential nominee, who has kept herself at the center of political debate with a bestselling book, an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and controversial Facebook postings. Now Palin has found another way to stay in the spotlight: by signing on as a contributor for the top-rated Fox News Channel.

Palin, who will make her debut tonight on "The O'Reilly Factor," will appear regularly as a commentator on the network. She'll also be one of the hosts of an occasional series called "Real American Stories," about how everyday Americans cope with challenges.

With her hiring, Fox News gets a high-profile figure whose pronouncements on issues such as healthcare reform have helped drive contentious partisan debate -- it was her Facebook post that first raised the term "death panels."

"She is one of the most talked about and politically polarizing figures in the country," said Bill Shine, the network's executive vice president of programming. "First off, we hope she brings that."

Palin, in turn, gets a large megaphone. Last year, Fox News drew a record prime-time audience of nearly 2.2 million viewers, more than CNN and MSNBC combined, according to Nielsen.

But whether Palin is able to use her perch at the network to enhance her stature for a possible 2012 presidential run remains to be seen.

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