Sarah Palin's Fox News career: By the numbers

Palin speaks to Tea Party America in September 2011 in Iowa.

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

Sarah Palin's lucrative contract to provide political analysis for Fox News expired and, as was reported last week, wasn't renewed. Palin sources say Fox offered her a new contract and she declined; Howard Kurtz at CNN says that Fox made her a "lowball offer, and both sides agreed to an amicable separation." Kurtz and others in the media treated Palin's departure as the perfect occasion to write her political post-mortem, reflecting on what she meant and why her influence has declined from the boldest of boldface names to near-irrelevance. Palin fans dispute that — despite all the "phony" reports, "Palin is highly relevant," says Ron Devito at Conservatives 4 Palin. "Her potential reach to markets outside Fox News strikes fear and loathing in the hearts of her enemies, because she remains... an existential threat to the way they conduct business." But, indisputably, her run at Fox is, at least for the moment, in the history books. Here's a look back at her tenure at Rupert Murdoch's cable news juggernaut, by the numbers:

$1 million

The reported price of Palin's annual contract with Fox News

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Years that contract lasted, starting January 2010

7.2

Average interval, in days, between Palin's Fox appearances during her contract, according to Smart Politics' Eric Ostermeier

151

Total Fox News appearances by Palin during her contract, mostly on Sean Hannity's and Greta Van Susteren's shows

189,221

Words Palin spoke during those appearances

786

Times she mentioned President Obama

Times she mentioned Ronald Reagan

Times she said the phrase "you betcha," both in the first month of her contract

111

Times she said "Amen"

Times she said "heck"

$15.85

Amount Palin earned per word spoken on Fox

$250,000

Palin's reported take for each episode of TLC's 2010 series Sarah Palin's Alaska

3.2 million

Viewers who tuned in, on average, to Sarah Palin's Alaska

$100,000

Palin's speaking fee, as negotiated in 2010

797,955

Copies Palin sold of her second book, America By Heart, in 2010

2,670,000

Copies Palin sold of her first book, Going Rogue, in 2009

747

Days since Palin's defiant "blood libel" video response to the 2011 Tucson shooting that killed six and wounded then–Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) — a reported turning point in Palin's relationship with Fox News chief Roger Ailes and, according to Mediaite's Tommy Christopher, the moment Palin's bright star started fading

Major Best Actress awards Julianne Moore has won for portraying Palin in the 2012 HBO movie Game Change, including a Golden Globe, an Emmy, a Critic's Choice Award, and a SAG Award

3.49 million

Palin's Facebook followers

880,860

Palin's Twitter followers

Sources: CNN, Conservatives 4 Palin, Mediaite (2), New York, The New York Times, Smart Politics, ThinkProgress, The Washington Post, Wikipedia

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.