Fox News Host Speaks Out Against Network’s Decision to Stop Him from Covering Dominion Lawsuit: ‘I Strongly Disagree’
Fox News Host Speaks Out Against Network’s Decision to Stop Him from Covering Dominion Lawsuit: ‘I Strongly Disagree’
By Joe DePaoloFeb 26th, 2023, 1:33 pm
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A Fox News host said the network is not allowing him to cover the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed against Fox News by Dominion voting systems.
Speaking at the midway point of his weekly media roundup show MediaBuzz on Sunday, Howard Kurtz said that the company has forbidden him from covering the case. He added that he is not on board with that decision.
“The company has decided that as part of the organization being sued, I can’t talk about it or write about it, at least for now,” Kurtz said. I strongly disagree with that decision. But as an employee, I have to abide by it.”
Kurtz noted that some in his audience have quizzed him about the fact that he’s been silent on the case.
“Some of you have been asking why I’m not covering the Dominion voting machines case against Fox involving the unproven claims of election fraud in 2020,” Kurtz said. “It’s absolutely a fair question. I believe I should be covering it, it’s a major media story, given my role here at Fox.”
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The lack of coverage was particularly noticeable on last Sunday’s edition of the show, which came three days after a blockbuster filing in the case included a series of unflattering revelations about Fox News. Among the bombshells in the filing; Rupert Murdoch instructed Fox News President Suzanne Scott to “concentrate on [the Senate runoffs in] Georgia, helping any way we can,” and that Fox News executives described several of the network’s own hosts as “crazy.”
The network has maintained the revelations are “noise,” arguing that they are “irrelevant” to the case.
“There will be a lot of noise and confusion generated by Dominion and their opportunistic private equity owners, but the core of this case remains about freedom of the press and freedom of speech, which are fundamental rights afforded by the Constitution and protected by New York Times v. Sullivan,” the network said in a statement. A Fox News spokesperson added, “Dominion has mischaracterized the record, cherry-picked quotes stripped of key context, and spilled considerable ink on facts that are irrelevant under black-letter principles of defamation law.”
Fox News has filed a counterclaim in the case arguing that Dominion has not established it has suffered financially as a result of the network’s coverage — noting that they generate annual revenues approaching $100 million per year.
Kurtz, however, said he was not permitted to address any of that on the air.
“If that changes, I’ll let you know,” he said.
Watch above, via Fox News.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post mischaracterized an email written by Rupert Murdoch to Suzanne Scott as encouraging the network to help Donald Trump. The email stated, “Trump will concede eventually and we should concentrate on Georgia, helping any way we can.” The post has been updated.
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