Will Fox News throw its weight behind Newt?

By Greg Sargent
WashPost

Dylan Byers, a welcome addition to Ben Smith’s blog, raises an intriguing possibility, which, if it comes to pass, would be terrible news for Mitt Romney:

As Newtmentum continues to build, some members of Washington’s chattering class are beginning to wonder whether Fox News chairman Roger Ailes might throw his network’s weight behind former contributor Gingrich — a move that would deal a powerful blow to Mitt Romney, and might help level an otherwise uneven playing field.

Ailes is seen as an essential friend for any Republican presidential hopeful — as one conservative told New York Magazine’s Gabe Sherman earlier this year, “You can’t run for the Republican nomination without talking to Roger.” But the chairman has been dissatisfied with this year’s offering. “[H]e hasn’t found any of them, including the adults in the room — Jon Huntsman, Mitch Daniels, Mitt Romney — compelling,” Sherman reported in May.

Romney hasn’t helped himself in this regard. His recent interview with Bret Baier notwithstanding, Romney has proven far less available to the media — and far less available to Fox — than the other candidates. In the last six months, Gingrich has made more than three times as many appearances on the network as Romney, according to Media Matters, which tracks Fox obsessively.

(More here.)