Will Fox’s Defeat Change The News Media?

 

Truth in America won a big victory when FOX News took a huge loss by suddenly settling a case that was about to begin last week against Dominion, the voting booth company that sued the network for defamation over numerous unfounded stories that were filled with baseless accusations that Dominion somehow rigged the 2020 presidential election.

The conservative news network, one that had been the de facto mouthpiece for Donald Trump during his tumultuous presidency, while not technically admitting guilt, threw in the towel and look as guilty as OJ did.

Let’s face it, you don’t wait two years and pay 787 million dollars — more than eight times what Dominion earns — unless you feel you will lose your court case. And you don’t think you will lose, with powerful lawyers by your side, unless you realize that the other side has the evidence to prevail. Dominion let these sleazy scoundrels off too easy.

How can anyone trust in Fox News when it just paid three quarters of a billion dollars to the injured party? We know there is media bias and fake news out there. But when a network just makes up a story and keeps running it even when they know there is no proof for it, you have to question how anyone can trust them.

I am surprised the Murdoch-owned company has enough money from its legal slush fund to pay this. It had been exhausted from payouts over a rash of sexual harassment and rape cases that exposed several top talk show hosts and even the CEO as having engaged in disgusting, illegal behavior.

Murdoch, who owns a lot of tabloid media overseas, paid over 1.25 billion in a phone-hacking case a dozen years ago. He represents the ugly side of journalism.

Unfortunately, he seems to skirt the law and avoid jail time. The lawsuits or fines, though massive, are absorbed as a business expense. Fox still gets great ratings and his media properties which includes Harper Collins, Wall Street Journal, and The New York Post, are doing well despite the fact its owner is a liar.

Will the television news media clean up its act and stop filling air-time with bias and opinions — and instead go out and actually find and report news and seek out exclusives? The nation can’t survive when advocacy journalism blinds media coverage and leaves citizens manipulated and in the dark.

The Fox settlement is a big deal, for sure, but it doesn’t feel like it will change the news media landscape the way it should. In fact, it may just be a sign that the price of getting ill-gotten ratings is one the networks can absorb and still profit some. This means citizens ultimately pay the price in getting news that is skewed and biased at best; utterly false at worst.

 

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Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.