While she hasn't made any official announcement, Fox News contributor Sarah Palin has made it clear that she's considering a run for president in 2012. At what point will it become blatantly inappropriate and unethical for “fair and balanced” Fox to keep her on its payroll?

Palin has been hinting at her interest in a presidential run for some time. At the National Tea Party Convention in February, Palin said that she “would be willing” to challenge President Obama in 2012 and wouldn't “close the door” on running. In September, she told Fox News' Greta Van Susteren that she “would offer [herself] up in the name of service to the public” if “nobody else wanted to step up.” Giving a speech in Pennsylvania this month, Palin told the audience that while she hadn't made any decision about running, if she did decide to run, she would be “in it to win it.”

Now, there are stronger indications that Palin is seriously considering a presidential run, but still no indication that Fox News is going to sever ties with one of its most prominent potential GOP candidates.

In a lengthy New York Times Magazine profile that appeared online today, Robert Draper wrote that when he asked Palin if she is considering a run for president, she replied, “I am.” She went on to say that she was “engaged in the internal deliberations candidly, and having that discussion with [her] family.”

Palin explicitly mentioned the exposure she receives through her job at Fox News, saying, “I'm on television nearly every single day with reporters. ... Now granted, that's mainly through my job at Fox News, and I'm very proud to be associated with them, but I'm not avoiding anything or anybody. I'm on Facebook and Twitter. I want to talk about my record, though.”

Palin is not the only potential Republican presidential candidate affiliated with Fox News. Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Mike Huckabee are all Fox News contributors, making Mitt Romney the only Republican frontrunner not affiliated with the network. This creates an issue not only of fairness in reporting, but also of journalistic equality. As The Huffington Post reported, Fox News contributors are contractually forbidden from appearing on any network other than Fox, meaning that all of their television coverage is likely to be a sympathetic platform for their messages.

As Media Matters has documented, Fox News often acts as a campaign platform and fundraiser for Republican candidates, allowing them to speak through Fox News. There is also the issue of these potential candidates' Fox salaries; Politico quoted GOP strategist Jim Dyke making a relevant point: “As it becomes clear somebody is looking at running, Fox gets into a bit of a box because doesn't it become an in-kind contribution if they're being paid?”

While there is an internal war among Fox News contributors over whether Palin is qualified to be president, she is plainly considering a run. She also continues in her position as a Fox News contributor. At what point will Fox consider it inappropriate and unethical to employ her on its “fair and balanced” news network?

UPDATE: ABC News is reporting that Palin gave additional indications that she is seriously considering a run for president in a taped interview with Barbara Walters scheduled to air on December 9. Palin reportedly told Walters, “I'm looking at the lay of the land now, and ... trying to figure that out, if it's a good thing for the country, for the discourse, for my family, if it's a good thing.” ABC News' Mary Bruce further reported:

Although Palin remains undecided about whether to run, the 2008 vice presidential nominee has now made clear in two interviews this week that she is seriously considering it.