Winners and Losers in Sarah Palin's Fox Trot

"Gotcha" journalism, watch out. Sarah Palin is coming for you

Sarah Palin didn't win the vice-presidential seat in the last election, but she's taking home a nice consolation prize: a commentator's seat on the "fair and balanced" Fox News.

Palin will join Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly on the network, appearing as a talking head on various shows and hosting an occasional show about inspiring Americans. The notorious media-basher said she's "thrilled" to accept the gig, though financial terms weren't disclosed.

Pundits, media critics and political junkies alike took to the blogosphere to discuss Palin's foray into Fox -- what can we expect now that the self-described pitbull in lipstick is getting her paws on the news?

  • Palin is "perfect for Fox News," Bonnie Erbe writes at US News & World Report. Forget politics, Erbe writes: Palin is "much better suited to TV, where glamour is everything and intellect is of little consequence."
     
  • Baltimore Sun critic David Zurawik blogs for Z on TV that Palin's newsy new job isn't only foolish, it's undermining the integrity of the journalism industry. The move represents "another giant step down to partisan warfare instead of a journalism viewers and citizens can trust," he writes.
     
  • Steve Benen at Washington Monthly agrees, fuming that an "unemployed half-term governor" doesn't rightfully deserve any on-air time --  but that she'll be a good fit for Fox News' largely Republican base. "It's a match made in...well, somewhere unpleasant," Benen writes.
     
  • Mark Greenbaum, writing for the Christian Science Monitor , says that Palin's turn as a pundit is "the next step in the logical progression of her career" and will benefit both Fox and Palin herself. The ex-governor will get publicity in exchange for a "ratings bonanza" for Fox, Greenbaum writes, saying Palin's new job makes "total sense."
     
  • The move could benefit the ex-governor if Palin decides to throw her hat in the ring for the next race to the White House, Howard Kurtz writes at The Washington Post. "The exposure can only help Palin if she decides to pursue a 2012 presidential bid," Kurtz writes.
     
  • But the person who will benefit most from Palin's new job is the viewer, Jed Lewison blogs at the Daily Kos. Not only will Palin's new show bring the "laughs," Lewison blogs, "it'll be crazy entertaining to watch (death panels, you betcha')."
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