New expectations' for Roger Ailes

Recent shakeups at Fox News have seen both Sarah Palin and Dick Morris exit stage right

Politico reports its part of a larger effort by Fox News CEO Roger Ailes to reestablish credibility for the cable channel after the election:

[B]y the end of campaign, Fox could seem like an alternate universe, one in which the Benghazi killings were the most important story in America and Mitt Romney, contrary to public polls and Fox’s own polls, was on his way to winning the election. While ratings were strong, the network had a bumpy election night, capped off by Rove taking to its air to argue that everyone else was premature in calling Ohio for President Barack Obama. Rove, who recently had his Fox contract renewed, saw his appearances scaled back after the scene.

Ailes has aggressively, and shrewdly, toned things down post-election. Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly were among the first conservatives to call for a rethinking of the GOP’s opposition to comprehensive immigration reform. And then Palin and Morris got the boot, sending an unmistakable message about the new expectations for the channel’s contributors.