So Sean Hannity was charging admission to his show at a Tea Party rally at the University of Cincinnati it now transpires.

He intended to give the money to the Tea Party,essentially making his show and the Fox Network a fundraising arm of the Tea Party.

That may well be a firing offence especially when Rupert Murdoch had just made it clear that Fox did not support the Tea Party. Speaking earlier this week he said he did not think Fox News "should be supporting the Tea Party."

Though a rock ribbed conservatives Murdoch is also a realist who knows the Tea Party could hinder, not help the Republican Party he avidly supports get back into power by pulling that party too far to the right .

But Sean Hannity looks like he is taking the opposite stance.

There can only one winner as a long list of fired journalists will tell you when you battle Rupert Murdoch--and it ain'y you .


The signs are ominous for Hannity . Yahoo news is reporting that " Popular Fox News host Sean Hannity is reportedly in the doghouse with executives at the conservative-leaning cable network for charging admission to attend a scheduled taping of his show from a Tea Party rally at the University of Cincinnati yesterday — with the proceeds going to the rally's organizers."

Bill Shine, Fox News' executive vice president of programming, stated that that the network "never agreed to allow the Cincinnati Tea Party organizers to use Sean Hannity's television program to profit from broadcasting his show." He added, "When senior executives in New York were made aware of this, we changed our plans for tonight's show."

Network executives were said to "furious" with Hannity.

They're furious for one reason only -- they know Murdoch is furious.

How on earth did Hannity think he could get away with such a stunt, given that he works for Fox News and he would have shredded their last claim to be 'fair and balanced' if it turned out they were hosting fundraisers for the Tea Party?

He may be about to find out what a dreadful mistake he has made.