14 December 2008
CeaseSpin Blog | 22 March 2009 | 07 December 2008

Retrospective: Fox Loss Was Overturned Later On Appeal

12/14/08 10:01 Filed in: Media Reform



Editors Note: We are replaying this episode in journalism as an example of how we can lose control of truth. Our National Amnesia does not serve us well when we leave such matters unaddressed. Fox News loses this case initially as this story indicates, but later wins the appeal giving them the okay to lie to the public in their news reports. In many ways this is a large corporation testing the resolve of all Americans' capacity to check abuses of power. This is made more troublesome by the fact that the abuses are the actions of the press. Ironically the press is supposed to represent the publics interest by placing a check on abuses of power. When the press is the "abuser", what checks can be placed on it? We hope you'll be moved to take action by supporting media reform today.
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Florida Reporters Win Trial Over Fox TV and Monsanto Suppression of rBGH Story (and lose the case later)

Florida Reporters Awarded $500,000 in Damages after FOX TV Caved into Monsanto and Killed an Investigative Series on the controversial recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH)
AGRIBUSINESS EXAMINER EXTRA August 21, 2000 A.V. Krebs, Editor\Publisher Monitoring the activities of corporate agribusiness from a public interest perspective
Florida Jury Concludes: FOX PRESSURED AKRE\WILSON TO BROADCAST "FALSE, DISTORTED OR SLANTED NEWS REPORT" TERMINATED AKRE AWARDED $450,000 DAMAGES
By Steve Wilson
TAMPA (August 18) After listening to all the evidence for five full weeks and deliberating more than six hours, a state court jury has agreed with what fired journalists Steve Wilson and Jane Akre said long ago: FOX Television pressured them to broadcast a false, distorted or slanted news report.
The jury awarded $425,000 in damages after finding the evidence proved that FOX took retaliatory personnel action against Akre because she threatened to blow the whistle to the Federal Communications Commission.

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