Fox News Channel creator Roger Ailes renewed his contract with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp as a new US presidential administration brings a fresh opportunity for the cable news network to reclaim its heritage as America's alternative news source.

Mr Ailes signed a new five-year contract and will remain as chairman and chief executive of Fox News and chairman of Fox Television Stations Group, which is among the hardest hit of Mr Murdoch's businesses in the economic crisis as marketers sharply curtail advertising spending in local TV.