Gingrich: Saying Fox News more biased not 'blaming the media'

Newt Gingrich defended his comments critical of Fox News and insisted he wasn't "blaming the media" during his first interview with the network's radio arm.

Last week, Gingrich said at a private meeting in Delaware that he thinks "Fox has been for Romney all the way through" and that he believes "CNN is less biased than Fox this year." That prompted Fox News head Roger Ailes to respond, saying Gingrich was "trying to get a job at CNN because he knows he isn't going to get to come back to Fox News."

Later in the week, Gingrich cut short an interview with a student newspaper after a student asked about the controversy.

But on Wednesday, Gingrich said his comments were no different than similar remarks by his formal rival Rick Santorum.

“Well, that is exactly the same thing Santorum said," Gingrich said.

Santorum accused the network of "shilling" for Romney during a radio interview earlier this year.

But Gingrich said his comments didn't mean he was "blaming the media" for his poor showing in the Republican primary.

“No, it’s not blaming the media; I didn’t blame the media, did I? I just, I was asked a very specific question by somebody at a Tea Party meeting and I answered it. That’s not blaming the media at all," Gingrich said. "Look, I’m very happy to be with folks all the time and I am very happy to talk about the campaign as you and I are doing today, but you may remember that last June and July before we even got off the ground we spent two solid months with people saying that my campaign was dead before we even got started. I finally ended up in December actually leading in the Gallup polls, which is a long way from being dead.”

Gingrich also reiterated that he believed he was playing an important role in the campaign.

"I believe that there's a virtue to having a conservative still standing. There's a virtue to having somebody who talks about an American energy independence program, with gasoline below $2.50 a gallon. There's a virtue to having somebody who talks about the need for the right to bear arms becoming a universal human right, not just an American constitutional right," Gingrich said.

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