Fox follies

I worked as a professional newsman (sports writer at a daily newspaper) for nearly 40 years before retiring, and through all of that time, I was always conscious of upholding the highest of journalistic standards whenever I wrote something for publication.

I still do, even as I write my blog. Old habits, I guess.

The very ultimate standard, of course, is to tell the truth. That would seem obvious, although there are times when one person's version of the truth can be another person's perceived disinformation. Not necessarily a lie, perhaps, but maybe an alternate truth? How do you distinguish between the two?

Malice could be a way. Malice is the intention to do harm or evil. And that's essentially what happened when Fox News settled its defamation case this past week with Dominion Voting Systems for a whopping $787.5 million. Without going into detail, Fox basically claimed Dominion committed fraud (with doctored voting machines, so they said) in the 2020 election that put Joe Biden and not Donald Trump in the White House.

In the lead-up to the trial, in the discovery phase, it was revealed that many Fox commentators (Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, et al) knew the elections were fair and honest, but reported fraud instead. They told their viewers lies, and the defendants knew they were lying. Some, like Carlson, said through email, texts and deposition transcripts, that he hated Trump "passionately." Other damning behind-the-scenes evidence was also revealed.

That makes Fox and company hypocrites and liars and vandals of American democracy, which is dependent upon a free press that reliably tells the truth.

I myself was waiting for an actual trial. The weight of the evidence against Fox seemed overwhelming. As difficult as it is to prove defamation, it was clear Fox didn't want to take its dirty laundry to trial. So it settled.

But it settled without a clear-cut apology for lying to its viewers. On the day of the settlement, Fox offered a statement that said, in part: "We acknowledge the court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false."

There it is. Fox admitting culpability. That's the best you're going to get from them.

And then this: "The settlement reflects Fox's continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards."

Wait. Didn't they just admit to lying to their viewers? An action which they now claim to be "the highest journalistic standards."

So they're still lying to you. There are no high journalistic standards at Fox.

The question now is how Fox viewers will absorb this settlement. Fox has hardly mentioned the settlement to its viewers. Some Fox viewers might not even be aware a defamation suit was filed against the network. Sometimes it's not just about the lies they tell you, but often it's about the truth they don't tell you. That's how pernicious Fox has become.

How dangerous is that? Ask yourself how many Jan. 6 rioters were Fox viewers who unwittingly consumed the Big Lie? We'll never know, but we can guess. Some of them have plenty of jail time to think about it.

Now, a second defamation suit filed by Smartmatic, another voting system corporation, is in the works. The discovery phase is in its early stages, so you can expect even more revelations about Fox's cynicism in the near future. Unless Fox is smart enough to settle early.

This is what I hope: This time I hope when Fox settles that Smartmatic forces Fox to make on-air apologies about lying to its viewers. I hope Fox begins each broadcast hour for a full year with a court-ordered disclaimer: "We at Fox lied to you about Smartmatic committing voter fraud. We lied to you about Dominion. We lie to you about everything."

That won't happen, of course. Dominion and Smartmatic are private corporations seeking compensation for damages, not the salvation of American journalism or democracy.

But it's a start. Dominion, for its part, has filed suit against other right-wing news organizations like Newsmax and OAN for similar damages. It's also filed defamation suits against individuals who lied on Fox, such as Rudy Giuliani, Sydney Powell and Mike Lindell.

I don't know. Maybe these viewers just like being lied to. They like being told what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear.

The truth is out there.