LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Internet columnist Matt Drudge on Wednesday appeared to be in danger of losing his television job after he refused to host his Fox News Channel show because the network would not let him show a picture of a fetus.

Fox is demanding that Drudge apologize or face legal action for the incident. Drudge said he wouldn't apologize for having a ``free mind.'' He called officials of the cable news network owned by media baron Rupert Murdoch ``overgrown fetuses.''

A source close to the network told Reuters on Wednesday that Fox has been growing disenchanted with Drudge and his show in recent months.

According to the source, network officials feel the show has become stale and that Drudge spends too much time away from the set. ``Drudge hasn't broken any news in a long time,'' the source said.

The Web columnist gained notoriety by running accounts of President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky before they surfaced in mainstream media. But the source said, ``His 15 minutes of fame are quickly fleeting,''

The demand for an apology, tied to the threat of legal action, was contained in a letter Fox News sent to Drudge and his agent, George Hiltzik, on Monday and made public on Wednesday.

``We're waiting for him or his representatives to get back to us with some kind of apology,'' a Fox News spokesman told Reuters. Network Chairman Roger Ailes has said the issue will be settled ``one way or the other'' by Friday.

Neither Drudge nor Hiltzik had an immediate comment.

The letter said Drudge breached his contract by failing to do his show last Saturday after the network refused to let him display a picture of a fetus to launch a discussion of abortion.

Fox News has said the photo in question, showing a tiny hand reaching out from a womb, was misleading because it was taken of a 21-week-old fetus undergoing surgery for spina bifada, not an abortion procedure.

Drudge accused the network of censorship, insisting he had planned to represent the photo accurately but wanted to use it to make a dramatic point about the extent of fetal development at 21 weeks.

Asked about the demand for an apology, he told the Philadelphia Inquirer: ``Apology? Here's my apology: I apologize deeply to Fox News for having a free mind. ... I don't know why Fox is afraid. They're overgrown fetuses who hit the panic button.''

Brit Hume, Washington editor for Fox News, told the Post, ''What he calls censorship is what the rest of us call editing.''

The letter Fox sent to Drudge said in part, ``In order to avoid extensive litigation over this matter, it is necessary for you to apologize to Fox News for your actions, taken by you on Saturday, and for the disparaging public remarks you have made against Fox News.''