Sarah Palin's Inevitable Fox Deal Does Not Include Getting Her Own Talk Show

No, she still isn’t going away: The New York Times reports that Sarah Palin has finally signed a deal with Fox News, to be a “contributor” and present an “occasional series.”

And while this move has been long expected, reporter Jim Rutenberg suggests that it doesn’t necessarily mean that Palin has wholly traded politics for show business:

Many suspected that when Ms. Palin retired as the governor of Alaska last summer she was doing so to pursue some sort of career in television. The Fox News deal, however, would not seem to be all encompassing, and would appear to give her room for other pursuits, as well.

If Palin’s platform at Fox News is to launch a future run for political office, it will just be the latest move in a symbiotic relationship between Fox News and conservative politicians. As the Times also reported over the weekend, Fox News chief Roger Ailes has been given a long leash at News Corp while he continues to be an unprecedented money maker, even as his partisanship antagonizes Rupert Murdoch’s heirs:

“I am by no means alone within the family or the company in being ashamed and sickened by Roger Ailes’s horrendous and sustained disregard of the journalistic standards that News Corporation, its founder and every other global media business aspires to,” said Matthew Freud, who is married to Ms. Murdoch.”

But for now, the strategy stands, and Palin remains ratings gold. Let’s see what she’s got up her sleeve.