On October 5, Fox News contributor Sarah Palin announced on Mark Levin's radio show that she did not intend to seek the Republican nomination for the presidency. According to a new report from New York magazine, Palin's decision to make that announcement somewhere other than Fox News “infuriated” Fox head Roger Ailes, who insisted that he hired Palin “to make this announcement on [his] network.”

New York reported that Palin decided to announce on Levin's show because she's been “upset” with her Fox colleague, Republican super-fundraiser Karl Rove, with whom she has repeatedly clashed. A Palin adviser told New York that “she isn't happy with Karl,” because “from day one, he hasn't been very nice.”

Media Matters has documented many of the ethical challenges raised by the relationship between Fox News and potential Republican presidential candidates. With respect to Palin, Fox employees often spoke about her on air not as a colleague but as a candidate. Unlike fellow Fox commentators/candidates-in-waiting Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, Palin was allowed to appear on air throughout her entire deliberation period.

New York reported that Palin has apologized for her “misstep,” but notes that “tensions between Palin and Fox haven't subsided.” From New York:

Sarah Palin's announcement that she wouldn't run for president disappointed her legions of admirers -- but it infuriated Roger Ailes. The Fox News chief wasn't angry about the decision itself. Rather, he was livid that Palin made the October 5 announcement on Mark Levin's conservative talk-radio program, robbing Fox News of an exclusive and a possible ratings bonanza. Fox was relegated to getting a follow-up interview with Palin on Greta Van Susteren's 10 p.m. show, after the news of Palin's decision had been drowned out by Steve Jobs's death. Ailes was so mad, he considered pulling her off the air entirely until her $1 million annual contract expires in 2013.

After the announcement, he called Fox's executive vice-president Bill Shine into a meeting. Shine is the network's principal point of contact with Palin. Ailes told him she had made a big mistake. “I paid her for two years to make this announcement on my network,” Ailes pointedly told Shine. Sources described the episode on condition of anonymity, given the sensitivity of the relationships.