"Sarah, where are you?" one of Sarah Palin's 3.4 million Facebook fans wrote on her wall last week. "Has your contract with Fox ended?" another fan asked the day before.
Fox News has indeed parted ways with Ms. Palin, the former Alaska governor and Republican vice-presidential nominee, a Fox spokeswoman confirmed on Friday, reducing if not altogether ending her exposure to the channel's millions of loyal viewers.
It was unclear whether the parting was Ms. Palin's choice, but several people described it as amicable. Bill Shine, an executive vice president at Fox, said in a statement, "We have thoroughly enjoyed our association with Governor Palin. We wish her the best in her future endeavors."
Ms. Palin, a prominent contributor to programs like "On the Record," last appeared on Fox News in mid-December. As of last week, she was negotiating with the network for a new contract. Her original contract, which started in January 2010 and ended this month, was reportedly worth $1 million a year to Ms. Palin. She had a small television studio built in her home in Wasilla, Alaska, for easy access to Fox's viewing audience. Fox had no comment on the terms that had been offered during this round of negotiations.
A spokeswoman for Ms. Palin referred a reporter to an article by Real Clear Politics, the Web site that broke the news of the split on Friday. The article quoted an anonymous source as saying that Ms. Palin had decided not to renew with Fox, but "will be expanding her voice in the national discussion."
Ms. Palin was represented in the negotiations by Robert B. Barnett, a Washington lawyer who has handled contracts for any number of television and political stars. Mr. Barnett did not respond to a request for comment.
Tensions arose several times between Ms. Palin and Fox, leading to speculation that the two parties might part ways this month. At one point last year, she took to Facebook – her most direct way to communicate with fans – to complain about what she said was Fox's decision to cancel her appearances during the third day of the Republican National Convention.
She did not post any comments on Facebook about her separation from Fox, but some of her supporters did. "Hope you will keep your Facebook updated," one wrote.