Rupert Murdoch and Fox Corp. board members sued by investor over ‘stolen election claims’
News Corp profits dive 75% as Rupert Murdoch-owned company hints at AI future
Poor result weighed down by lower print and digital advertising at News Corp Australia, a division that includes flagship newspaper The Australian
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A Fox Corp. shareholder sued Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch and several members of the Fox Corp. board of directors in Delaware on Tuesday afternoon, arguing that they violated their fiduciary duty to the company when they allowed Fox News to broadcast election conspiracy theories.
The derivative action — a kind of lawsuit brought by shareholders who believe they’ve been harmed by the corporation — was brought by a single plaintiff, Robert Schwarz.
“The Board’s decision to chase viewers by promoting the false stolen election claims has exposed the Company to public ridicule and negatively impacted the credibility of Fox News as a media organization that is supposed to accurately report newsworthy events. The Company is now the subject of two defamation cases, with combined damages claimed to exceed $4 billion,” the lawsuit alleges.
The suit builds on the trove of internal communications, documents and evidence made public in Dominion Voting Systems' sweeping $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News and Fox Corp., which has revealed that many at Fox News knew the rigged election claims were false even as they allowed their continued broadcast.
“FOX knew — from the Board on down — that Fox News was reporting false and dangerous misinformation about the 2020 Presidential election, but FOX was more concerned about short-term ratings and market share than the long-term damages of its failure to tell the truth,” the filing continues.
Lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems have argued in their court filings that Fox executives elevated election conspiracy theories because they feared they were losing their audience after Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss.
Fox News has denied that it defamed Dominion Voting Systems, arguing that its broadcasts and social media posts are protected by the First Amendment.
Schwarz’s attorneys declined to comment in an email. Fox News and Fox Corp. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bloomberg Law reported recently that several firms are eying derivative action against Fox Corp. board members.
Jane C. Timm is a senior reporter for NBC News.
News Corp profits dive 75% as Rupert Murdoch-owned company hints at AI future
Poor result weighed down by lower print and digital advertising at News Corp Australia, a division that includes flagship newspaper The Australian
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has recorded a steep 75% drop in full-year profit but sees opportunities ahead as it expands the use of cost-saving AI-produced content.
The US-listed media conglomerate – which owns mastheads in the US, UK and Australia, along with book publishers, subscription television and real estate advertising assets – recorded $US187m ($A287m) in net profit for the financial year, down from the previous year’s $US760m record.
The result was weighed down by lower print and digital advertising at News Corp Australia, a division that includes flagship newspaper, The Australian. It also recorded lower print advertising at its UK news arm.
For the first time, News Corp generated more than half of its revenue from digital streams and the media company revealed an upbeat assessment of the potential of generative AI, capable of producing text, images, video and other media, to drive profits.
“That momentum is surely gathering pace in the age of generative AI, which we believe presents a remarkable opportunity to create a new stream of revenues, while allowing us to reduce costs across the business,” said News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson.
“We are already in active negotiations to establish a value for our unique content sets and (intellectual property) that will play a crucial role in the future of AI.”
The company’s Australian arm recently disclosed it was producing 3,000 articles a week using generative AI.
The volatile trading period, marked by high inflation, proved difficult for News Corp, which owns Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones and runs book publisher Harper Collins.
Its newspaper stable also includes The Sun and The Times in London, and the New York Post.
Revenue for the 12 months to 30 June was $US9.9bn ($A15.1bn), a 5% decrease on the prior year. The financials were partly depressed by there being one less week in 2022-23 than in the prior financial year.
“Our results showed marked improvement in the second half, so with inflation abating, interest rates plateauing and incipient signs of stability in the housing market, we have sound reasons for optimism about the coming quarters,” Thomson said.
The company’s business news-focused Dow Jones unit was a standout performer, posting its highest profitability to date. The Foxtel business was supported by increased subscribers to its Binge and Kayo streaming services.
News Corp recently reduced staffing costs through widespread redundancies.
The media company’s book publishing arm recorded lower revenues as book sales dropped, while digital real estate assets suffered from challenging housing market conditions in Australia and the US.
“Our results showed marked improvement in the second half, so with inflation abating, interest rates plateauing and incipient signs of stability in the housing market, we have sound reasons for optimism about the coming quarters,” Thomson said.
The company’s business news-focused Dow Jones unit was a standout performer, posting its highest profitability to date. The Foxtel business was supported by increased subscribers to its Binge and Kayo streaming services.
News Corp recently reduced staffing costs through widespread redundancies.
The media company’s book publishing arm recorded lower revenues as book sales dropped, while digital real estate assets suffered from challenging housing market conditions in Australia and the US.
A fall in Australian real estate listings, especially in Sydney and Melbourne, dented revenue in News Corp’s property portals. It also recorded an US$81m write-down in its investment in PropertyGuru, a large South-east Asian online real estate business.With AAP
News Corp using AI to produce 3,000 Australian local news stories a week
The Data Local team uses AI technology to generate stories on weather, fuel prices and traffic reports for hyperlocal mastheads
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/aug/01/news-corp-ai-chat-gpt-stories
News Corp Australia is producing 3,000 articles a week using generative artificial intelligence, executive chair Michael Miller has revealed.
Miller told the World News Media Congress in Taipei that a team of four staff use the technology to generate thousands of local stories each week on weather, fuel prices and traffic conditions, according to a report in Mediaweek.
The unit, Data Local, is led by News Corp’s data journalism editor Peter Judd and many of the stories carry his byline.
The unit supplements the copy written by reporters for the companies’ 75 “hyperlocal” mastheads across the country including in Penrith, Lismore, Fairfield, Bundaberg and Cairns.
Stories such as “Where to find the cheapest fuel in Penrith” are created using AI but overseen by journalists, according to a spokesperson from News Corp. There is no disclosure on the page that the reports are compiled using AI.
The spokesperson confirmed Miller had made the comments at a conference last month and said it would be more accurate to describe the “3,000 articles” as providing service information.
“For example, for some years now we have used automation to update local fuel prices several times daily as well as daily court lists, traffic and weather, death and funeral notices,” the spokesperson said.
“I’d stress that all such information and decisions are overseen by working journalists from the Data Local team.”
Miller told the conference most new subscribers buy a subscription for the local news, and they stay for national and world news as well as lifestyle information, according to the report by the World Association of News Publishers.
The executive also revealed that 55% of all subscriptions are driven by the hyperlocal mastheads – of which News has launched 24 in recent years.
In 2020, a total of 112 of Rupert Murdoch’s print newspapers stopped printing, including 36 which closed altogether. But many remained digital only and the company has launched several new local digital-only titles since then.
The titles are staffed by a single journalist and are typically in regions with a population of 15,000 or more.
Rupert Murdoch and Fox Corp. board members sued by investor over ‘stolen election claims’
"The News Corp Board Did Nothing Despite The Harm To News Corp Resulting From NAM and NDS Misconduct ..."
News Corp shareholders lodge legal complaint against Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch Rothschild News Corp Fraud Against INLNews Group (youtubeexposed.com)
RupertMurdochsEndlesspower (inltv.co.uk)
TheSunKing_RupertMurdoch'sEndlessReign (inltv.co.uk)
News Corporation LLC
NewsCorporation_SECFiling_NewNewsCorporation_LLC
An investigative report states that The Rothschild Family, their partners and associates effectively finance, run and control the major security agencies and networks around the world, such as Israel's Mossad, Five Eyes consisting of the British (GCHQ/MI5/MI60, Canadian (CSE), New Zealand (NZSIS), Australian (ASIO) and USA (CIA)Security Agencies and Networks, and the Russian Security agencies and networks... being silent partners with Rupert Murdoch, News Corp, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Wikipedia etc., and many other mainstream media outlets around the worlds they make sure there are a lot of MI6, CIA etc. staff working as double agents for the media outlets, as well as being paid by these security agencies and networks to do their bidding within these mainstream media groups...
CMS Committee inquired about whether anyone who had testified in the prior committee proceeding had lied ...Both Murdochs (Rupert and James) claimed that they had no knowledge on that issue. James Murdoch also testified that he had he had no knowledge of the recent evidence (primarily the "Fox Neville" e-mail) that expanded the hacking scandal beyond one rogue reporter until the end of December 2010....
Shortly after James Murdoch testified, two former News International senior executives, Crone and Myer, challenged James Murdoch's testimony, claiming that they had told him years ago about an email that showed that the wrongdoing at News of the World was much more widespread than News Corp and their subsidiary News International acknowledged.
".. All powerful Red Lodge 33rd Degree Freemason Zionist Jew Rupert Murdoch and his Trillionaire silent partners 33rd Degree Red Lodge Freemason, Zionist Jew, Lord Jacob Rothschild and the Rothschild Partners, secretly arranged through Private Trust and their News Corp and its UK subsidiary News International managed to persuade the Freemason and Zionist Jewish controlled British Courts to seal of all court and investigation proceedings, thus using the British Government and the British Courts to help them hide evidence of News Corp's and its directors, senior management, staff, servants and otherwise illegal and wrongful misconduct from the shareholders and the general public scrutiny. News Corp and News International further insisted on an extensive confidentiality provision in the settlement agreement to legally prevent Gordon Taylor or his attorneys from publicly speaking about the matter. The amount of settlement of £700,000, far exceeded amounts that had been awarded by courts in similar lawsuits, thus confirming that a major purpose of this extremely high £700,000 settlement was the confidentially agreement, to keep the matter under wraps. In a letter to the UK House of Commons Culture, Media and Sports Committee, James Murdoch confirmed that confidentiality was an important factor in the astronomical £700,000 settlement amount:
Please take the time to read more of this story below on this INLTV.co.uk webpage
Fox News and Dominion reach settlement on first day of trial The jury had been set to consider whether Fox News should be held liable for publishing the false claim that voting machines rigged the 2020 election.
Meet the Press Blog
From the journalists at NBC News and the NBC News Political Unit
Fox Corp. settles 2020 election lawsuit as Dominion defamation case heads to trial
Fox Corp. privately settled a defamation case with the Venezuelan businessman Majed Khalil last week, according to a letter to the federal judge overseeing the case dated Saturday.
Khalil was ensnared in voting machine conspiracy theories advanced by Trump lawyer Sidney Powell on the Fox Business show “Lou Dobbs Tonight” and on social media, and he sued Fox Corp., Fox News and Dobbs for defamation.
The settlement comes days before Dominion Voting System’s sweeping defamation case heads to trial. The specific broadcast and tweet Khalil challenged are also challenged in Dominion’s suit. Fox canceled Dobbs' well-rated show in February 2021.
According to court documents, Khalil was described on Dobbs' show and on social media as a key player in a voting machine scheme tied to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez that Powell claimed was used to rig the 2020 U.S. election in a Dec. 10 broadcast that year. Dobbs’ Twitter account described it as a “cyber Pearl Harbor in the 2020 election" the same day.
According to Khalil's filing, he has never had business dealings or ties to the voting system companies Dominion or Smartmatic.
“The parties are pleased to jointly inform the Court that they have reached a confidential agreement to resolve this matter. The parties anticipate filing a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice early next week,” the attorneys said in a letter to the court.
U.S. District Court Judge Louis Stanton of the Southern District of New York shot down a motion to dismiss the proceedings last year, disagreeing with Fox News’ argument that the broadcast and tweet promoting it were protected by the First Amendment and other legal protections. Khalil was never contacted by Fox Business in its reporting, the order noted, even as he was repeatedly identified as a player in a criminal scheme.
“This matter has been resolved amicably by both sides," a Fox News spokesperson said. "We have no further comment.”
RonNell Andersen Jones, a professor at the University of Utah College of Law who specializes in the First Amendment, said the settlement previews a key part of the upcoming trial.
"It confirms that one of the trickiest pieces for Fox in all of this is the messaging that came out of Lou Dobbs," she said.
Fox Corp. settles 2020 election lawsuit as Dominion defamation case heads to trial
Fox Corp. privately settled a defamation case with the Venezuelan businessman Majed Khalil last week, according to a letter to the federal judge overseeing the case dated Saturday.
Khalil was ensnared in voting machine conspiracy theories advanced by Trump lawyer Sidney Powell on the Fox Business show “Lou Dobbs Tonight” and on social media, and he sued Fox Corp., Fox News and Dobbs for defamation.
The settlement comes days before Dominion Voting System’s sweeping defamation case heads to trial. The specific broadcast and tweet Khalil challenged are also challenged in Dominion’s suit. Fox canceled Dobbs' well-rated show in February 2021.
According to court documents, Khalil was described on Dobbs' show and on social media as a key player in a voting machine scheme tied to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez that Powell claimed was used to rig the 2020 U.S. election in a Dec. 10 broadcast that year. Dobbs’ Twitter account described it as a “cyber Pearl Harbor in the 2020 election" the same day.
According to Khalil's filing, he has never had business dealings or ties to the voting system companies Dominion or Smartmatic.
“The parties are pleased to jointly inform the Court that they have reached a confidential agreement to resolve this matter. The parties anticipate filing a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice early next week,” the attorneys said in a letter to the court.
U.S. District Court Judge Louis Stanton of the Southern District of New York shot down a motion to dismiss the proceedings last year, disagreeing with Fox News’ argument that the broadcast and tweet promoting it were protected by the First Amendment and other legal protections. Khalil was never contacted by Fox Business in its reporting, the order noted, even as he was repeatedly identified as a player in a criminal scheme.
“This matter has been resolved amicably by both sides," a Fox News spokesperson said. "We have no further comment.”
RonNell Andersen Jones, a professor at the University of Utah College of Law who specializes in the First Amendment, said the settlement previews a key part of the upcoming trial.
"It confirms that one of the trickiest pieces for Fox in all of this is the messaging that came out of Lou Dobbs," she said.
Fox News loses bid to dismiss Dominion defamation lawsuit over election coverage
WASHINGTON — Fox News Network on Thursday lost its attempt to dismiss a $1.6 billion lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, a voting machine company that says Fox defamed it by amplifying conspiracy theories about its technology.
In a written ruling, Delaware court judge Eric Davis said Dominion had sufficiently alleged it was defamed by Fox News’ 2020 election coverage and the case should proceed toward trial.
“At this stage, it is reasonably conceivable that Dominion has a claim for defamation per se,” Davis said in his ruling. “Accordingly, Fox’s Motion should be denied.”
Dominion’s lawsuit, filed in March, accused Fox of trying to boost its TV ratings by amplifying false conspiracy theories that the company rigged the presidential election against Republican Donald Trump, who lost to Joe Biden, a Democrat.
Trump campaign surrogates, including lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, floated conspiracy theories that Dominion rigged vote totals in the weeks after the Nov. 3, 2020 presidential election.
In a statement, a Fox News spokesperson called Dominion’s lawsuit “baseless” and said the network remains committed to defending itself.
“As we have maintained, FOX News, along with every single news organization across the country, vigorously covered the breaking news surrounding the unprecedented 2020 election, providing full context of every story with in-depth reporting and clear-cut analysis,” the Fox spokesperson said.
Dominion and Smartmatic, another election software company at the center of pro-Trump conspiracy theories, are seeking billions of dollars in damages from Trump allies they accuse of defamation, including Powell, Giuliani, and MyPillow Inc Chief Executive Mike Lindell.
In August, a judge denied motions to dismiss filed by Powell, Giuliani, and Lindell. The Trump allies continue to defend themselves in court, arguing that their remarks about Dominion and Smartmatic were free speech protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The Fortune interview: Rupert Murdoch
In his first wide-ranging press interview in five years, the media mogul opens up about remaking his empire, succession and his children, his divorce, politics, and his new vineyard.
Murdoch at his desk at News Corp. headquarters in New York City Photo: Marco Grob
Defending a newspaper empire amid scandal, splitting a global media conglomerate into two public companies, enduring a high-profile divorce, and struggling to repair frayed relationships with grown children — it’s been a trying few years for Rupert Murdoch. A week after turning 83, Murdoch sat down with Fortune senior editor-at-large Pattie Sellers for his first wide-ranging interview with the press since 2009. He was feisty, highly opinionated, and game to talk about the biggest challenges of his storied life (save for the allegations of phone hacking by News Corp. journalists in Britain, which he declined to discuss for legal reasons).
And though battered by turmoil and strife — and a recent fall on his head, as he revealed in this Q&A — Murdoch seems newly secure as the world’s most powerful global media billionaire. Starting with a single Australian newspaper that he inherited from his father in 1952, Murdoch built News Corp., which owns the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, the Times of London, the leading newspapers in Australia, and book publisher HarperCollins. Last July he split News Corp. from 21st Century Fox, which owns the Fox broadcast network, cable assets including Fox News and new ESPN rival Fox Sports 1, the 20th Century Fox movie studio, and satellite broadcasting operations across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The combined stock market value of his two companies exceeds $80 billion. Murdoch owns nearly 40%, controls the voting stock, and calls the shots.
Murdoch recently handed the keys to the kingdom to his two sons. Lachlan, 42, is the new nonexecutive chairman of both News Corp. and 21st Century Fox — a stunning comeback for Murdoch’s elder son, who in 2005 quit his News Corp. job over clashes with senior management and returned to Australia to build his own empire. Son James, 41, who was tarnished in News Corp.’s phone-hacking scandal, moved up to co-chief operating officer at 21st Century Fox.
Fortune: You’ve had a very eventful past few years. How have you come out of this, and has it taught you anything?
Murdoch: Oh, it’s been stressful. I’m quite open about it. I was reluctant to see the company split, and now I’ve got to say that I’ve been proved wrong. I think it’s been a great success. And I’m not talking about the share market. I think the two companies, which were all in one before, are now much more focused, which will lead to faster growth.
Why were you reluctant to split the company?
I guess it was emotional.
You, some say, “endowed” News Corp. with close to $3 billion in cash. Meanwhile, Time Inc. is spinning off from Time Warner with $1.3 billion in debt. Does that make sense to you?
No. Well, I don’t want to criticize here. It’s a very fine company with great assets. But print is going through a tough time. There’s got to be a lot of money spent on digitizing everything. You’ve got to keep improving and competing in a new world, as well as keeping your old world going. So to have some spare cash gives you a lot of security. Whereas at Time I would imagine that the new management is going to be looking immediately at how can they save money. I hope we’re not wasting money, but we’re spending.
What don’t people understand about you?
Well, they perhaps tend to think I’ve not got as thick a skin as I have. You know, I don’t mind what people say about me. I’ve never read a book about myself.
Has this been your toughest period ever?
Well, everything has sort of come at once. But I was in an unhappy situation, and all I’m worried about or do worry about is two beautiful little girls from that marriage [to Wendi Deng, whom he divorced last November]. And they come and stay with me a great deal. I feel like I’ve turned over a new page in my life.
How long do you think you will live?
Well, my mother just died at 103, so that’s a start. You should live 20 years longer than your parents. [Laughs.] That may not be realistic, but I’m in good physical shape, according to the doctors. And don’t worry — my children will be the first to tell me if I start losing some mental ability. That will be the time to step back.
News Corp. acquired Dow Jones in 2007, bringing the Wall Street Journal into its stable of print assets needing to adapt to a digital age. Efforts to leverage Dow Jones’s Factiva business database have faltered
News Corp. acquired Dow Jones in 2007, bringing the Wall Street Journal into its stable of print assets needing to adapt to a digital age. Efforts to leverage Dow Jones’s Factiva business database have faltered.
Let’s talk about the newspaper business. Is it fair to say that the game is to cut costs faster than revenue declines and —
No!
Why is that wrong?
Well, obviously when you come to a difficult period, you look at all your costs very, very carefully. But we haven’t gone nearly as far as some of the other papers have, like the L.A. Times and the Chicago Tribune or a lot of lesser papers. We’ve added a lot of things to the Wall Street Journal. We honestly believe that it’s the best newspaper in America, if not the world.
Why keep the New York Post going? I don’t know what it lost last year, but I think that in 2012 it lost $40 million.
It’s in that area.
Why keep it alive?
Advertising has been very difficult. We’re looking at various plans for the Post. We are working very hard on the digital edition.
Are you suggesting that in the next five years the Post as a print newspaper could go away and digital would be it?
I would be surprised. I’m not saying it’s impossible. I would think it might be quite likely in 10 years.
What about the Wall Street Journal? Is that likely to exist in print form in 10 years?
I think so. Maybe not in 20. A lot of people are very happy to read their newspaper either on their iPad or — startlingly and faster and faster the figures go up — on their telephone, on their smartphone. At the London Times a third of our circulation is on a tablet. And people who read it on their tablet are spending 20% more time than if they’re reading the paper.
In looking to expand News Corp., the biggest challenge, I would assume, is monetizing digital efforts.
Yeah, and that leads us to all sorts of things. For instance, in London our digital includes video. We bought the video rights to the Premier League [England’s top soccer league] and their highlights. Now if you look at the London Times, you’ll find that with quite a number of the photographs, you touch them and they turn into videos. I think newspapers come alive that way. We talk about “papers.” We should cut out the word “paper,” you know? It’s “news organizations.
you know? It’s “news organizations.”
That’s a good idea.
We have duties to our shareholders to give them the best possible returns, but we see them also as much more. They can be a great power for good. And that takes me back all the way to my father, who specifically had left me, by the standards of those days, a silver spoon — but still a tiny paper, half a tiny paper, my sisters and I. He hoped that I would have the opportunity to have a useful life in media. And he wasn’t talking about making money.
Do you think about your father a lot?
Yes. If I’m looking backward, which I don’t do much, he’s quite the most important sort of formative influence and figure that I would admire in the past.
Do you think about your father a lot?
Yes. If I’m looking backward, which I don’t do much, he’s quite the most important sort of formative influence and figure that I would admire in the past.
News Corp. created a subscription-based web venture, DJX, that bundles data services to compete with Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters. It stumbled out of the gate, didn’t it?
Yes.
What is the lesson and what’s the future of that?
Well, I think the lesson was that we didn’t do a good job. I think the concept is absolutely right, but we should have taken longer and got all those things right. The heart of that is Factiva, which we are now spending a lot of time improving, and repairing the relations with the people. People loved Factiva. [We said to Factiva customers:] “Look, you’ve got to pay much, much more money, and you’ve got to take everything or nothing.” They said, “Nothing.” So we’re now repairing that. First we get Factiva right; then we get the other special services right. Whether we’ll bundle them exactly in that way, I’m not sure.
Do you look with envy or admiration at Bloomberg? The company, not the man.
I look at the man more than the company.
What do you think of the man?
I like the man. And admire him. As for the company, he took an incredible stroke of luck and saw this great opportunity and established something. And he kept pushing it. And now those who use it buy it at a huge price — can’t live without it. Mike’s got a virtual monopoly there. When their costs go up a bit, they put the prices up, and no one cancels. And they keep growing slowly. It’s a very small market, a very elite market. I remember when he rang me one day to complain about some criticism in the Post. I said, “I’ve just read Bloomberg View, and it absolutely lacerated me.” He said, “Oh, nobody reads that.” [Laughs.]
News Corp. owns a successful Australian business called Realestate.com.au that many of our readers have probably never heard of.
It’s been growing so fast. My son Lachlan bought that. He bought the first 44% in 2001 for $1 million.
It’s been growing so fast. My son Lachlan bought that. He bought the first 44% in 2001 for $1 million.
Are you serious?
Yes. And some free publicity. And it cost us about $100 million to buy the next 18%. Now we’ve got 60-odd percent. And it’s got a market cap of $7 billion Australian [$6.5 billion U.S.]. It’s got huge viewership. People go to it just to look at how other people live in houses. And some of them say, “Oh, perhaps I’ll buy that.” If you talk to any agent in Australia, they’ll say that over 90% of their business comes from REA, which of course has devastated the classified advertising in some of our newspapers.
What’s the lesson? And is Realestate.com.au replicable?
We’re looking at expanding REA a lot outside Australia. We’ve looked at all the companies in America that stand out: Zillow and Trulia and so on. And we’ve thought they were overpriced.
News Corp. began expanding into the TV and movie businesses in the mid-1980s. Today 21st Century Fox, the holding company for those assets, has a market cap more than seven times as large as Murdoch’s once-core newspaper business.
News Corp. owns a successful Australian business called Realestate.com.au that many of our readers have probably never heard of.
It’s been growing so fast. My son Lachlan bought that. He bought the first 44% in 2001 for $1 million.
Are you serious?
Yes. And some free publicity. And it cost us about $100 million to buy the next 18%. Now we’ve got 60-odd percent. And it’s got a market cap of $7 billion Australian [$6.5 billion U.S.]. It’s got huge viewership. People go to it just to look at how other people live in houses. And some of them say, “Oh, perhaps I’ll buy that.” If you talk to any agent in Australia, they’ll say that over 90% of their business comes from REA, which of course has devastated the classified advertising in some of our newspapers.
What’s the lesson? And is Realestate.com.au replicable?
We’re looking at expanding REA a lot outside Australia. We’ve looked at all the companies in America that stand out: Zillow and Trulia and so on. And we’ve thought they were overpriced.
News Corp. began expanding into the TV and movie businesses in the mid-1980s. Today 21st Century Fox, the holding company for those assets, has a market cap more than seven times as large as Murdoch’s once-core newspaper business.
Let’s talk about 21st Century Fox.
The film company is doing very well, and of course it’s got a bonus now with the Netflixes and the Amazons coming in buying programs. We plan to step up our production of major films. We’ve got on our plate one or two or maybe more sequels to Avatar, which was the biggest film in history.
I knew about one. There may be two sequels?
The end of ’16 is the first sequel. If we make it, it will be the first time Jim Cameron’s been on time or on budget. But he’s never lost me. When he finally comes through, they’re just huge hits.
Are you going to hire [DreamWorks CEO] Stacey Snider?
I would like to. I’m a great admirer of hers. And I’ve had long talks with her. I think they’re at a stage — it would be improper to talk more about that. It’s really for [Fox Studio chief] Jim Gianopulos to hire her.
Your new Fox Sports 1 network is a very big bet.
Well, it’s a pretty big bet. We certainly expect to lose a couple hundred million dollars for a year or two, and then we expect it to turn, and we’ll gradually make it into a major alternative to ESPN. We’re not going to put ESPN out of business.
Why does ESPN need an alternative?
I think the public deserves choice.
Why?
ESPN is a very, very good operation, and it’s a gold mine. It’s an even bigger gold mine than Fox News. Not that Fox News won’t get there. Fox News is going to make over $1 billion this year, and can do a lot better. No cable company in the world is going to drop it unless they want their houses burned down. [Laughter.] But ESPN has managed to ride this Monday Night Football to the point where they’re charging every home in America with cable. Over $5 a head. How many people watch ESPN? A third of the public, half the public?
21st Century Fox sold its 47% stake in STAR China TV in January. Why bail on China? Is this coincidental with your divorce?
No. We had a couple of channels in China, which were making nothing. And to our happiness and surprise, they were valued at a couple hundred million by Shanghai Media Capital. They took 52% and made it profitable. And then they took up their option to buy us out of the other half.
But is it fair to say that you kind of got fed up with China?
Look, if you want to run your own media — have control of it in China — you’ll get fed up very quick. But is there room to make interesting investments in China? It’s obvious, yes. There’s a huge amount of innovation going on in China. And we have a lot of relationships there: partly friendships, like with [Alibaba founder] Jack Ma, but also with Edward Tian, who’s starting a vast cloud operation in Beijing. He runs funds, a few funds, in which we have 20% stakes, which have done very well. As for making movies in China, we’re going to try again. But in the past it has been impossible to get American directors to go there. Because once you get there, they want to censor every line in every movie, and they can take a month giving you a decision on one line.
Part of the reason Murdoch is so globally powerful — and controversial — is that he has used his media properties to wield political clout. In the U.S. there’s no better example than Fox News, which routinely tramples on its own slogan, “Fair and balanced.”
Does it bother you at all, Rupert, that there is a view that Fox News has contributed in a big way to the political discontent in the U.S., degraded the political process, and maybe, in spotlighting the Tea Party, even hurt the Republican Party?
I think it has absolutely saved it. It has certainly given voice and hope to people who didn’t like all that liberal championing thrown at them on CNN. By the way, we don’t promote the Tea Party. That’s bullshit. We recognize their existence.
Does it bother you that Facebook is as successful as it is, and MySpace could have been Facebook?
I think that was one of our great screwups of all time.
What was the mistake? Buying it?
It was part of Fox. No one knew anything about it, so they [installed] a bunch of people to try to watch it. If they weren’t happy with the people running it, they should have gone and hired Mark Zuckerberg or someone like him, all right? I mean, when Mark came, we had just bought it for $600 million. Everybody thought [it was worth] $6 billion, and we were hailed everywhere for a very short time. I remember Mark coming down to visit my ranch. He was a very shy, quiet young man of about 20 or 21. And he was all for us getting together. And I didn’t take him up on it. I think he’s done a brilliant job.
Would you put your money into Facebook today?
The people in Silicon Valley don’t agree with me, but I think that $200 billion [market cap] for that, no matter how good the company, is going to be very hard to justify in the long term. I don’t have confidence in the permanence of any particular social app or social network, you know?
Obviously you like Twitter.
My family are horrified that I’m on it. They think it’s ridiculous. And people like [News Corp. CEO] Robert Thomson have said, “No, it’s extremely good personal public relations to show you’re interested in more than just making money.”
Is cable consolidation your biggest worry? No.
We’re all standing back at the moment and having a look at this big cable consolidation and haven’t decided yet whether it’s any threat to us. And that would go for other broadcasting companies and Silicon Valley companies. We’ve not decided to make any submissions or get too excited about it. Look, Comcast gives a very good service. And if they could make Time Warner as good as they are, a lot of people would benefit.
What kind of a leader are you?
I’m a permanently curious person. I probably waste my time being curious about things that have got nothing to do with the business sometimes. What keeps me alive, certainly, is curiosity.
What are your thoughts on the next U.S. presidential race?
Oh, I have no settled thoughts at all. I’m watching it with great interest.
What are your unsettled thoughts?
I think there are some very interesting candidates.
Could you live with Hillary Clinton as President?
I could live with Hillary as President. We have to live with who we get. We don’t have any choice.
Can you envision yourself supporting Hillary?
It would depend on the Republican candidate totally.
Who do you think the Republican candidate will be, or who would you like it to be?
I think it’s between four or five people. It’s not necessarily, although slightly, in order of preference: Jeb Bush, Paul Ryan, whom I have particular admiration for. I do for both. [Chris] Christie could recover. Scott Walker, whom I don’t know, and Rand Paul, whom I agree with on a great number of things but disagree strongly on some things — too strongly perhaps to vote for him.
You disagree with Paul most strongly on what?
Foreign policy.
Why do you admire Paul Ryan?
He is the straightest arrow I’ve ever met. He’s hardworking. He knows where every dollar goes in Washington. He’s emerging as the natural leader. I almost think that because of the position he’s in, he’s not the most important, but he’s the most influential Republican in his party at the moment in Washington.
What do you like about Jeb Bush?
I think he’s a man of very fine character. He was a great governor. And I particularly like his policy on education, which I’m hardest on. My number one.
You’re spending a lot of money in the education space. I’ve read about Amplify. It looks like, “Oh, boy, this is one of Rupert Murdoch’s passion plays.”
It’s a big passion play gamble, yes. Well, we would not think it a gamble. We have hundreds of people on it, preparing these classes and the software that goes into them. When you get a tablet, which allows the teacher to assess each child day by day, it’s a huge teachers’ aid and a huge aid to kids. Because kids, when they’re 3 years old, never mind when they’re 10, would rather be working on an electronic device and learning. Every lesson now is animated, so that’s what’s taking time. And then we test them in front of kids and bring in groups of teachers on every single 40-minute class we prepare.
Do you envision this to be a high-return business?
Potentially it will be, but it’s a few years out.
Let’s talk briefly about HarperCollins. Book publishing is another business under great stress.
We were going to make a record profit this year. We find electronic publishing of books very good. People are buying more books. They buy them at lower prices. We still get a good margin, and we don’t have to have huge warehouses and take returns from every bookshop in the world. Our experience with ebooks is very good, and we intend to expand it.
Do you read books on your iPad?
I’ve got to confess, I don’t. It’s a generational thing. I’ve never bought a Kindle. I ought to get one, I guess. If you look at our business, Kindle is infinitely bigger (than the iPad), Amazon infinitely bigger than Apple. Apple may catch them, I don’t know.
It’s been a challenging decade for Murdoch’s adult children. After Lachlan left News Corp. to go back to Australia in 2005, James served his father loyally — and got tarred in the phone-hacking scandal after taking charge of News Corp.’s British newspapers in 2007. Family ties frayed in 2012 when Rupert’s daughter Elisabeth, who chairs London-based TV production company Shine Limited, spoke disapprovingly of News Corp.’s handling of the hacking scandal while delivering an address in Scotland known as the MacTaggart Lecture.
Do James and Lachlan’s new positions mean that they are first in line to lead the businesses after you retire?
Well, the job is not over yet. But yes, it does. But I’m going to be here for a long time. And so will [21st Century Fox president and COO] Chase Carey and Robert Thomson, the CEO of News Corp. Robert is the youngest of the three of us, so we’ll get more years out of him.
Is James an equal or almost-equal to Chase Carey, who is president and COO at 21st Century Fox?
Chase is president of the company. [James] certainly will be reporting to Chase, but a lot more people [than before] will be reporting to James
Do you read books on your iPad?
I’ve got to confess, I don’t. It’s a generational thing. I’ve never bought a Kindle. I ought to get one, I guess. If you look at our business, Kindle is infinitely bigger (than the iPad), Amazon infinitely bigger than Apple. Apple may catch them, I don’t know.
It’s been a challenging decade for Murdoch’s adult children. After Lachlan left News Corp. to go back to Australia in 2005, James served his father loyally — and got tarred in the phone-hacking scandal after taking charge of News Corp.’s British newspapers in 2007. Family ties frayed in 2012 when Rupert’s daughter Elisabeth, who chairs London-based TV production company Shine Limited, spoke disapprovingly of News Corp.’s handling of the hacking scandal while delivering an address in Scotland known as the MacTaggart Lecture.
Do James and Lachlan’s new positions mean that they are first in line to lead the businesses after you retire?
Well, the job is not over yet. But yes, it does. But I’m going to be here for a long time. And so will [21st Century Fox president and COO] Chase Carey and Robert Thomson, the CEO of News Corp. Robert is the youngest of the three of us, so we’ll get more years out of him.
Is James an equal or almost-equal to Chase Carey, who is president and COO at 21st Century Fox?
Chase is president of the company. [James] certainly will be reporting to Chase, but a lot more people [than before] will be reporting to James
How did you persuade Lachlan to come back?
Look, he was always going to come back. Lachlan is someone who’s been in love with media from the age of 12. He spent all his vacations working in pressrooms. But Lachlan and James and I had a very serious talk about how we can work as a team in July of last year. It was at the Allen & Co. conference. We broke away for a meal. We had two or three hours together. Lachlan was not not going to come back. It was a question of how we would work together. How would we be a team?
Lachlan is a wonderful human being with his feet very firmly on the ground. He has built a very interesting business in Australia for himself, although he stayed on our boards.
And James too. Everyone talks about hacking in London. That all happened long before James took charge. He took STAR television and [made it] the No. 1 broadcaster in India, with about eight channels, and is making a big difference to that country. And then he went to BSkyB, where people said, “Oh, that must be nepotism.” But in fact, he went through a lot of tests. And when we took him out of his day-to-day role there and made him chairman, the same shareholders complained and said we can’t lose him. He completely changed BSkyB and lifted the bar there in every way — and added huge value to News Corp.
Liz sold her production company, Shine, to News Corp. Why did she decline to go on the News Corp. board?
I don’t know. I’d rather not go into that. We’re a very, very close family. You know what close families are like. They meet at breakfast. They meet at dinner. And they have good arguments. That doesn’t mean they don’t love each other or have room for each other in each other’s lives.
Were you bothered by Liz’s MacTaggart Lecture?
She put a lot of work into that and was very proud of it and got congratulations from everybody, except me. Because I thought it was falling in line too much with the sort of BBC and establishment. I think she was hurt when I said I didn’t really love it or like it.
Do you feel that stresses in the family have been repaired?
Oh, I hope so. I had a long and warm and loving hour with her on the phone yesterday. But mainly talking about her kids and not about the business.
Is it likely that she will get involved in the business again?
It’s more than possible. That’s all I will say.
Murdoch and Wendi Deng divorced last November after 14 years of marriage. A Vanity Fair story in March included alleged diary entries by Deng about other men. Since the divorce, Murdoch has bought a 13-acre vineyard, Moraga, above Bel Air, Calif. He also purchased a 10,000-square-foot apartment, near Madison Square Park in Manhattan, for $57.25 million
Rupert, what did you think when you read Wendi’s [alleged] diary entries?
I was shocked. But I didn’t read them and I was not given them until after I had filed for divorce.
I’m sure it made you feel as if you made the right decision.
Right. I mean, I regret the whole Vanity Fair thing. I wish we just could have got divorced quietly.
There is this view out there, and I’m sure you’ve heard it: “Boy, Rupert, he makes a decision and he moves on.”
Well, you know, everybody was talking about these things and never telling me anything. I don’t really want to go into this. But then I was told two pretty circumstantial things about the ranch [where Deng had been staying, according to Vanity Fair]. I was in Australia. When I got back, I naturally asked the staff, and it opened up. That’s the story. And then, you know, a week later I filed. As soon as I could find a lawyer.
You’re moving on now and buying real estate. You bought Moraga, a new ranch, plus a new apartment in New York.
Well, it’s like turning a new leaf. I saw the story in the Wall Street Journal Mansion section about Moraga and realized that I had met the owner 20 or 25 years ago with President Reagan at a social party, although he wasn’t a very political person. He was dying because he was 93 and had very bad emphysema. And he wanted to sell it to someone who said, “I will keep it going and not subdivide this land.”
The owner was Tom Jones, a former CEO of Northrop, which became Northrop Grumman.
He had a fascinating life. At 19, he [worked on designing] dive-bombers, which sank the Japanese and saved Australia. Before his retirement he invested in the stealth bomber. So I wanted to talk about his career at Northrop Grumman. He wanted to talk about how to grow grapes and get better wine. So we formed a real friendship. I expected him to live a bit longer, but I said he could stay in the house. I’ve now taken possession of the house. I have hired a modest decorator. I just want it to be rustic.
You have another house near Moraga, don’t you?
Yes. I have a beautiful house, which the family is screaming about me selling. I don’t want two houses a couple of miles from each other.
Is the other house on the market?
It was, and I took it off. On the pleas of James and Lachlan.
Did they say, “That’s our house and you can’t sell it”?
I said, “Put your money up.” But I haven’t seen it.
And how did you find your New York apartment?
Natalie [Ravitz, his chief of staff] found it. I was away. I’d been ill. I had a very bad month in January and February. I had a fall in San Francisco. I fell on my head. It was just stupidity in a hotel room. I’d put on some boots to go for a hike around San Francisco to be shown by Natalie, and I went down and hit my head very hard. And I got, I guess you’d call it, a hair fracture across my spine. I landed on a carpet, but on my head. I’ve never had such pain in my life. A friend of mine sent a friend of his, a neurosurgeon, down to see me, who quickly said I didn’t have any concussion. After that, I just went to my ranch and rested for three weeks.
You were lucky. When will your New York apartment be ready?
Ask the decorator. I told him four months, and he said eight. And everyone tells me it’s 12.
It’s like James Cameron making a movie.
Yeah. I will be fairly modest, to start with. I’m not going to put in great antiques or have major things that take a long time to do. I’ll buy nice, not-too-modern furniture. But it’s a modern place. It’s very high.
What floor?
On 58, 59, and 60. It’s a triplex. And I assume that my two daughters will each have their own rooms for the first time in their lives. And they’re decorating them, they think.
This story is from the April 28, 2014 issue of Fortune.
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Fox News sanctioned for withholding evidence in Dominion defamation case
Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis on Wednesday sanctioned Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., for withholding evidence in the Dominion defamation suit and said he's considering further investigation and censure.
One of Grossberg's attorneys, Parisis G. Filippatos, said that lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems played recordings Fox News producer Abby Grossberg made during 2020, which were not handed over to Dominion's lawyers during discovery.
In an interview on MSNBC’s “Alex Wagner Tonight,” Filippatos shared audio also played during Wednesday’s court proceedings, with Rudy Giuliani telling Fox News host Maria Bartiromo in November 2020 "that's a little harder to tell you -- it's being analyzed right now," when asked about the voting software. Giuliani also said he "can't prove" that then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had an interest in Dominion.
In a second clip, from December 2020, a Trump official can be heard telling Fox News "there weren't any physical issues with the [voting] machines" during inspections.
Filippatos told Wagner, "If Dominion had these audio tapes and been able to use it in their summary judgment motion, maybe they would have gotten a complete victory."
Grossberg, a former producer for Fox hosts Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson, has sued Fox News and said her deposition was coerced. In an amended filing Tuesday, she said she had recorded conversations with Giuliani, Sidney Powell and others.
The judge's sanction gives Dominion a chance to conduct another deposition, at Fox’s expense.
"As counsel explained to the Court, FOX produced the supplemental information from Ms. Grossberg when we first learned it," Fox News said in a statement Wednesday.
The surprise evidence and sanction come days before the trial is scheduled to begin in the $1.6 billion defamation case Dominion Voting Systems filed against Fox News and Fox Corp. Davis also said Wednesday he was considering appointing a special master to investigate the Fox legal teams' actions.
In a statement, Grossberg's attorneys said she would be willing to speak with a special master if one is appointed.
“We are pleased that the Court recognized the very serious apparent discovery-related and other gross misconduct perpetrated by Fox News and its team of high-powered attorneys in relation to the Dominion v. Fox lawsuit that our client, Abby Grossberg, has courageously and repeatedly revealed in her lawsuits against the Network," Filippatos and Tanvir H. Rahman said Wednesday.
"Ms. Grossberg remains committed to speaking the truth in all appropriate forums, including before a Special Master appointed by the Court, while our firm will continue to ensure that she obtains the justice she deserves,” they added.
On Tuesday, Davis expressed frustration at Fox News for not being straightforward about Rupert Murdoch's role as a leader at Fox News.
"This is a problem," Davis said, according to a court transcript. "I need to feel comfortable when you represent something to me that is the truth."
Fox News did not respond immediately to a request for comment on the sanction but said in a statement Tuesday, "Rupert Murdoch has been listed as executive chairman of FOX News in our SEC filings since 2019 and this filing was referenced by Dominion’s own attorney during his deposition."
Jury selection begins in the Dominion defamation case against Fox News
WILMINGTON, Del. — Jury selection in the Dominion Voting Systems defamation case began Thursday morning, as the Delaware court works to identify 12 jurors and six alternates to hear the arguments against Fox News and Fox Corp.
Potential jurors will be interviewed about their ability to render an impartial opinion by Judge Eric Davis on Thursday and Friday, as he and the attorneys narrow down the jury pool.
Potential jurors were handed a list of questions designed to ferret out potential biases in the jury pool and were asked to raise their hands if they answered yes to any question. The judge then began questioning jurors about why they answered yes and whether they believed they could be impartial despite any potential connection to or personal opinion about the case or the parties.
Here are some of the questions potential jurors were asked:
- Do you personally know any employees of Dominion or Fox, or have you ever been employed by or otherwise had any connection with either of these parties?
- Do you personally know, or do you have any opinion on, any of the following persons who may be identified at trial? Mike Lindell, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell.
- Have you or a family member or a close friend ever worked in a newsroom?
- Do you avoid any Fox News programs, on television or any other social media, and if so, would this affect your ability to be fair and impartial?
Dominion, which manufactures voting machines, alleges that Fox News damaged its reputation by promoting phony claims that it was tied to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, paid kickbacks to politicians and “rigged” the 2020 presidential election by flipping millions of votes for Donald Trump to Joe Biden.
In a victory for Dominion in a pretrial hearing, the judge ruled that jurors will be instructed that all those claims are false.
Each side’s legal team is permitted six challenges, which allows it to eliminate jurors. But outside legal experts note that neither side will get a wish list in this process.
"Delaware is not as strict about conflicts as maybe other states are," said David Finger, a media lawyer who practices in Delaware. "It's a small state, people generally only one or two degrees of separation of everyone else. The fact that you may know a lawyer on the case may or may not be sufficient to get you rejected."
The trial is expected to last six weeks, during which jurors will be asked to consider if Fox News acted with knowing falsity or reckless disregard for the truth when they broadcast and published conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and if damages are due. They will also be asked to weigh whether Fox Corp. was involved enough to be liable in the alleged defamation.
There will be no video or audio broadcast of the trial. On Thursday, Davis denied a request by a coalition of media organizations to broadcast audio.
“I have gone as far as I can go with respect to access,” he told attorneys on Thursday morning ahead of jury selection.
The jurors will be anonymous to the public and media — identified only by numbers — but will be free to speak to the media after the verdict is rendered, if they so choose.
The selection process is critical, because the jurors will be required to reach a unanimous decision to find the Fox defendants liable for defamation.
Anthony Michael Glassman, a longtime media lawyer who has represented both outlets and their subjects in media cases, said the lawyers will hope the judge allows them to glean insight into jurors' views on the underlying partisan issues.
"I've tried enough jury cases to know — unless I'm in the courtroom trying the case or unless I'm at least there looking at the jury — you can always be surprised," he said.
Related coverage
- Fox News sanctioned for withholding evidence in Dominion defamation case
- Former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg calls the network a 'big corporate machine that destroys people'
- Here's what Fox News was trying to hide in its Dominion lawsuit redactions
- Fox News executives discussed a plan to denounce the 'Trump myth' a day before the Jan. 6 riot
See what Fox News tried to redact in the Dominion defamation case
The Dominion Voting Systems trial against Fox News hasn’t even started, but so much detail surrounding the $1.6 billion defamation suit has already come to light.
There have been thousands of pages of exhibits, filings and depositions released pretrial, giving people a glimpse into what was going on behind the scenes as Fox News gave on-air credence to the baseless theory that former President Donald Trump had the 2020 election stolen from him.
Some of that information was made public despite Fox News’ attempts to keep it hidden. When internal communications from Fox News were initially released last month, there were significant redactions to texts, emails and other communications.
A spokesperson for Fox News argued at the time that the redactions were “consistent with the law and court rulings” and “in accordance with the reporters’ privilege.” The network has also criticized Dominion’s filings for relying on “cherry-picked quotes without context to generate headlines in order to distract from the facts of this case.”
Fox News did not return a request for additional comment for this article.
The judge, however, eventually agreed with lawyers for Dominion and media organizations that Fox News had blacked out too much information and more of it was made public.
What came out was information that cast Fox News in a bad light, with some hosts disparaging their guests and acknowledging that the election conspiracy theories were off base.
Jury selection began in a Delaware courtroom this week, and the trial is scheduled to begin Monday. Dominion will attempt to convince a jury that Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., acted with “actual malice” — knowing falsity or reckless disregard for the truth — when it aired conspiracy theories about Dominion’s voting machines and the 2020 election. Fox News has argued that the case is about the “First Amendment protections of the media’s absolute right to cover the news.”
Here’s a look at just a small part of what Fox News wanted to keep hidden before the proceedings get underway.
Slide to the left for what Fox wanted the public to see, and to the right for what was eventually revealed.
In a text message on Nov. 21, 2020, that Fox News tried to keep redacted, prime-time host Tucker Carlson indicated to Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis that he didn’t believe her claims about Dominion’s voting machines and thought they were “shockingly reckless.” Yet just two days later, Carlson was on air expressing concern about the “security of our electronic voting machines.”
“This is a real issue, no matter who raises it or who tries to dismiss it out of hand as a conspiracy theory,” he added.
In a Nov. 17, 2020, text message to an unknown individual, Carlson expressed his disdain for Trump lawyer Sidney Powell. He described her as a “psychopath,” a “crazy person” and a “f------ b----” who was “getting Trump all spun up and has zero evidence” about a stolen election. Fox News originally wanted all this information redacted.
Carlson did confront Powell privately, pushing her for more evidence for her theories, and he criticized her on air as well. Yet she continued to find a home on shows in the larger Fox family.
Fox News wanted to redact what host Jeanine Pirro’s executive producer thought of one of her monologues after the 2020 election: “This is completely crazy.”
Pirro was one of the Fox hosts who repeatedly pushed conspiracy theories about Dominion, even after it became clear — including by some people who worked at the network, according to internal messages — that there was no truth to them.
On Nov. 16, 2020, the team at the Fox Business show “Lou Dobbs Tonight” received an email from Ed Rollins, a contributor and GOP strategist who had run a pro-Trump super PAC. In that email, Rollins stated clearly that he believed Biden had won the election.
“I have seen or heard of no evidence of fraud,” Rollins wrote, in a message that Fox News tried to keep redacted. “The conspiracy theories put forth by Rudy and Sidney are all bulls---.”
Dobbs continued to push claims that electronic voting machines had contributed to a stolen election. In mid-December, however, he was forced to air a fact-checking segment that debunked many of his show’s on-air allegations.
Fox News wanted to redact a message from Tiffany Fazio, a top producer for Sean Hannity's prime-time show, saying that another host, Laura Ingraham, was skeptical of the allegations about Dominion Voting Systems because of their popularity on a site that pushed other conspiracy theories around QAnon.
"Laura is not touching dominion story bc it started on 8chan," Fazio wrote to Porter Berry, who oversaw digital content for Fox News.
On Nov. 12, 2020, Hannity sent a message to a group of producers and expressed his concern about a drop in ratings.
“The difference between Tuesday and Wednesday ratings is we had nothing new and less hard hitting imho,” he said in the message Fox News wanted to keep redacted.
He then followed up with a solution: “We need to own the dominion story.”
Fox says Dominion knocked millions off damages claim
WILMINGTON, Del. — Fox News said in a court filing Sunday that Dominion Voting Systems knocked "more than a half a billion dollars off" its original damages claim just as trial proceedings were scheduled to get underway.
The filing — a request to the court for clarification about evidence the network can present to the jury related to the question of damages — said Dominion had informed Fox it was “walking away from lost profit damages and will pursue only 'lost enterprise value' damages."
A Fox spokesperson said in a statement Monday, “FOX has made clear that Dominion’s damages are wildly inflated which Dominion has now finally admitted at the 11th hour.”
Dominion disputed that, saying it has not reduced its claim. The company sued in 2021, arguing that Fox News defamed it by airing baseless conspiracies about its voting machines’ "rigging" the 2020 election against Donald Trump and seeking $1.6 billion in damages.
“The damages claim remains. As Fox well knows, our damages exceed $1.6 billion,” a Dominion spokesperson said Monday.
Fox's filing included an email from Dominion attorney Brian Farnan that said the Dominion legal team “will not be presenting its claim for lost profits damages to the jury, given that it is duplicative of the lost enterprise value damages.”
In an earlier Dominion complaint circulated by Fox, Dominion pegged lost profits at about $600 million and lost enterprise value at $1 billion. Dominion is also seeking lawyers fees, security costs and unspecified punitive damages to be set at trial.
Fox filed amid an unexpected delay in the trial's start.
On Sunday evening, just over 12 hours before potential jurors had been expected to report, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said he was delaying the start of trial to 9 a.m. ET Tuesday.
“This is not a press conference. I don’t do that. … What I’m telling you is I made the decision to delay the start of the trial until tomorrow,” he said from the bench Monday morning.
Davis did not give a reason for the delay, which he said was common for such proceedings.
For months, Dominion and Fox News have held firm against a settlement, but the delay fueled speculation that more serious talks could be underway.
Dominion declined to comment on whether settlement talks were underway. Fox News did not respond for requests to comment about the delay.
The delay follows a bruising week for Fox News.
During pretrial conference hearings, Davis sanctioned Fox News and its lawyers for withholding evidence, admonished them for not being straightforward with him and said he was considering appointing a special master to investigate possible legal misconduct by the attorneys. He said he would allow Dominion to conduct an additional deposition with Fox News Executive Chair Rupert Murdoch at Fox’s expense.
Davis also ruled that Fox lawyers could not use newsworthiness as a legal defense, limiting the possible trial strategies.
Fox News also faces a $2.7 billion lawsuit from the voting company Smartmatic in a New York court. Last week, they settled a smaller suit brought by a Venezuelan businessman who was identified as a key player in the bogus stolen election claims.
Fox could likely survive a nine-figure loss to Dominion, media analysts say
Fox Corp. can most likely weather even the harshest financial penalty that could come from Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit, analysts say.
The blockbuster trial — originally set to begin in a Delaware court on Monday before being unexpectedly delayed by one day — will determine whether Fox Corp. can be held liable for false claims made on Fox News, the media company’s namesake cable TV property, that Dominion’s voting machines were used to rig the 2020 presidential election.
Dominion’s lawsuit seeks $1.6 billion in compensatory damages, an amount that experts said would likely be whittled down substantially depending on the jury’s judgment or in an out-of-court settlement. Fox said in a court filing Sunday that it believed Dominion had lowered its requested damages to around $1 billion, but the voting machine company disputed that, saying it had not reduced its claim.
The media giant contests any claims of liability or damages sought by Dominion, with a Fox spokesperson calling the lawsuit “a political crusade in search of a financial windfall, but the real cost would be cherished First Amendment rights.”
In the event Dominion wins its case, said Lyrissa Lidsky, a constitutional law professor at the University of Florida, the jury is highly unlikely to award Dominion all the money it’s seeking for what it says is the reputational damage exacted by Fox News’ broadcasts.
In theory, Lidsky said, the jurors could also impose punitive damages to punish Fox for “extremely wrongful conduct” and award an even higher financial penalty than Dominion asked for. But she said she had seen no evidence “thus far that suggests there are going to be damages at that magnitude, even though the damages may be very large.”
“There’s a litigation strategy to ask for more than you think you can really get to anchor the number high,” Lidsky explained.
With more than $4 billion in cash on its balance sheet as of the end of 2022, Fox could probably cover even the maximum amount that Dominion is seeking without having to sell any of its existing assets to do so. In its most recent quarterly earnings report, Fox said it did not expect the “ultimate resolution” of any claims from the suit to have a “material adverse effect” on its business.
Wall Street analysts say the publicly traded company’s stock is likely to take a hit as a result of the suit.
Bank of America Securities estimated in a March 28 note that for every $500 million in damages, shares of Fox Corp. would lose about $1 per share. The company’s stock, which was trading at $33.62 late Monday morning, has fallen by more than 10% since Dominion filed its lawsuit in March 2021, a period in which the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 2%.
BofA Securities suggested that the lawsuit was likely to keep Fox’s stock from moving substantially over the course of what is expected to be a six-week trial as legal proceedings continue to unearth details about debates inside Fox over its airing of falsehoods about Dominion.
“At a minimum, the constant barrage of negative headlines should be an overhang on near-term investor sentiment,” the BofA Securities analysts wrote.
The Fox spokesperson didn’t comment on the business impact of any damages it might have to shoulder or on its stock outlook.
The case has also raised scrutiny on the media company’s editorial strategy as signs have emerged of gaps between what was reported on air and what some insiders — apparently with an eye on Fox’s business — indicated they knew to be true.
Details from the case show Fox News personalities growing increasingly concerned about losing viewers to competing network Newsmax in the days following the 2020 election. Texts and emails disclosed in Dominion’s filing suggest that Fox hosts then pushed back against efforts to set the record straight on the outcome of the election — allegedly to keep viewers from changing the channel.
Following an instance in which a Fox reporter noted that there was “no evidence” of voting system fraud, prime-time host Tucker Carlson texted fellow Fox anchor Sean Hannity calling for the reporter to be fired.
“It’s measurably hurting the company. The stock price is down. Not a joke,” Carlson texted on Nov. 12, 2020.
The company’s 2019 decision to exit its TV and movie businesses may have added pressure to hang on to viewers, said Gabriel Kahn, a journalism professor at the University of Southern California. After Disney purchased the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox for $71 billion in 2019, the remainder of Rupert Murdoch’s media company — known henceforth as Fox Corp. — became focused on its news, sports and business broadcast operations.
After the deal, Kahn said, “they doubled down on polarization and audience fragmentation,” adding that it became “absolutely, existentially important to keep that audience engaged.”
Still, Fox News dominates the cable news rankings. According to Nielsen live plus data, “The Five,” “Tucker Carlson Tonight” and “Jesse Watters Primetime” were the three most-watched cable news shows in 2022. Over that time, Fox’s advertising revenue grew by almost 9%.
The relationship between editorial decisions at Fox and the company’s business strategy, Lidsky said, could be relevant in the case as Dominion tries to prove that Fox aired false information with “reckless disregard” — part of the legal standard that will be key in determining whether Dominion was defamed.
“A business incentive to ignore the truth or falsity of what they were putting out there, that might tend to show reckless disregard,” Lidsky said.
Brian Cheung is a business and data reporter for NBC News.
Fired Fox News producer says she found more evidence relevant to Dominion case
WILMINGTON, Del. — Ex-Fox News producer Abby Grossberg said she recently found more evidence relevant to Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against her former employer and plans to turn it over to the court.
Grossberg, who worked as a senior producer for hosts Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson, alleged in a new sworn statement obtained by NBC News that Fox lawyers ignored repeated reminders about an additional cellphone in her possession and did not search it during court-ordered discovery.
In the statement, Grossberg said she repeatedly told Fox lawyers that she had an inoperable company-issued cellphone that she used during 2020 election coverage. Fox lawyers told her to hang on to the device but never searched it or copied her files, as they did with her other phones, according to the statement.
Grossberg was fired in March after she filed a lawsuit claiming that Fox lawyers coerced her into giving misleading testimony in the Dominion case and that she was being made a scapegoat for the network’s 2020 election coverage. Fox says she was fired for divulging privileged information.
Grossberg, in the new affidavit, said a forensic expert recently pulled two recordings off the broken phone that she recorded using an app called Otter, which simultaneously records and creates text transcriptions of audio files. The recordings, which she details in the affidavit and audio of which was shared with NBC News, are of phone interviews she participated in with Bartiromo: one with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and another with two sources who claimed to know about Dominion voter fraud.
She said she used Otter in the normal course of her work as a producer. Recordings are saved in the Otter app, and they can also be shared.
Grossberg’s attorney, Gerry Filippatos, said the statement would be filed with the Delaware court as early as Tuesday, the day the trial is set to begin.
“Abby Grossberg stands ready to do her part to ensure that justice is done; that those who are licensed and obligated to tell the truth, and guide others to the truth, do just that. As soon as possible and practicable, Ms. Grossberg will continue to set the record straight by telling all she knows to those who need to know,” Filippatos said in a statement.
In last week’s pretrial court appearances, Dominion attorneys played other recordings Grossberg made as a producer, including one with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, that Dominion said they’d received from Fox just the previous week.
That, along with confusion over News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch’s current role at Fox News, appeared to frustrate Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis. Murdoch is Fox News’ executive chair, too.
He admonished the Fox lawyers for withholding evidence and not being straightforward with the court, and he said the company would have to foot the bill if an additional deposition was necessary. He also said he was considering appointing a special master to investigate legal misconduct by the attorneys over whether Fox misrepresented their discovery efforts.
“Abby Grossberg is not Dominion’s problem. It’s not my problem. Abby Grossberg is a Fox problem,” Davis said at the hearing last week.
“It may not show, but I’m very uncomfortable,” he added.
Dominion did not respond to requests for comment.
“FOX News has complied with its discovery obligations,” a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement.
At last week’s hearing, Fox lawyer Michael Skokna said Grossberg had not disclosed the existence of the Otter recordings.
In her new statement, Grossberg said that Skokna’s claim was “absolutely false” and that she had told Fox lawyers about Otter in August.
“I proactively and specifically disclosed to the Fox News attorneys that I used an app called Otter for work purposes during the relevant time period,” she said, adding that a Fox attorney then asked her to explain how Otter works.
In a filing dated Monday, Fox lawyers added that while they had not known of Grossberg’s Otter recordings, they had shared some of Grossberg’s Otter transcripts found on email. The Giuliani transcript was shared with Dominion 10 months ago, they said.
Grossberg said that she recently asked a forensic expert to review the older phone and that the expert uncovered the recordings of the two interviews. Grossberg’s attorney shared the audio with NBC News.
The first recording, made on Nov. 7, 2020, according to Grossberg’s affidavit, was of a phone interview Bartiromo and Grossberg conducted with Cruz to discuss a planned broadcast appearance. Cruz is heard discussing voter fraud allegations — including an irregularity in Michigan, which uses Dominion machines in most counties — but stresses the need for facts and proof.
“It falls on the shoulders of the legal team that is bringing these cases to ascertain the facts. And it just can’t be, you know, someone tweeted this. It’s got to be demonstrable facts that can be laid out with evidence, because that’s what a court of law is gonna look to. Not just an allegation, but actual facts,” Cruz said on the recording. “And I hope when Rudy comes on the show tomorrow, he has some of those facts.”
Cruz did not respond to a request for comment.
Grossberg said in her affidavit that the second recording, made on Nov. 13, 2020, was of a background interview Grossberg and Bartiromo conducted with a banker named Doug Anderson, the CEO of Wall Street Capital Partners, and a male source who was granted anonymity to participate.
The men discuss conspiratorial claims about Dominion voting machines; Bartiromo promises to help “expose as much as we can,” while Grossberg presses for more information.
Anderson did not respond to a request for comment.
Grossberg said in the new statement that after she was fired last month, Fox asked her to return her ID badge and her company-issued cellphone. She said she complied but added that she forgot that she still had the older, broken device at the time.
Chris Mattei, a lawyer who sued conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for defamation on behalf of families of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, said Dominion’s lawyers may well be able to capitalize on the situation.
“The better thing that Dominion’s lawyers might think about is the extent to which they can use any evidence or cover up as affirmative evidence of something like consciousness of guilt,” he said, especially if Grossberg testifies for Dominion.
Dominion included Grossberg on a list of proposed witnesses filed with the court.
“Sometimes evidence of a cover-up or bad faith in litigation — like that evidence itself — a jury might find pretty compelling,” he said.
Grossberg has filed to intervene in the Delaware defamation case, but the judge has not yet ruled on the matter.
What you need to know about the Dominion v. Fox News trial
The trial in Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against Fox News is now set to begin Tuesday in a landmark defamation case that will determine whether the network can be held financially liable for publishing the false claim that voting machines rigged the 2020 election.
Dominion was the subject of conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 presidential race as then-President Donald Trump and his allies relentlessly pushed the lie that the election, which he legitimately lost to President Joe Biden, was stolen from him.
The trial had been scheduled to start Monday. The one-day delay was announced Sunday evening by the court without elaboration.
In a pretrial ruling, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis agreed with Dominion that the claims Fox News hosts and guests promoted about the voting machine company are false. That leaves Dominion to try to convince the jury that Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., acted with “actual malice” — knowing falsity or reckless disregard for the truth — when it aired the conspiracy theories.
Fox News has argued that the case is about the “First Amendment protections of the media’s absolute right to cover the news.”
Here's what you need to know.
What is Dominion Voting Systems, and why did it sue Fox News in the first place?
Dominion Voting Systems is a privately owned corporation that makes voting equipment used in 28 states across the U.S.
Dominion argues in its complaint that Fox News defamed it when the network broadcast baseless claims that it was tied to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, that it paid kickbacks to politicians and that its machines “rigged” the 2020 presidential election by flipping millions of votes for Trump to Biden.
In 2021, the company sued seeking $1.6 billion in damages and challenging a number of claims made by hosts and guests on Fox News and Fox Business and by host Lou Dobbs on social media.
Is it just Fox News named in the lawsuit?
Not exactly. Dominion is suing Fox News Networks — which includes the namesake network and Fox Business — and Fox Corp., the more moneyed parent company.
What is Fox's defense?
Fox News has argued that it was reporting on extraordinary claims of election fraud by Trump. In defending against the claims, Fox says that it is fighting to protect press freedoms and that the Constitution shields its work there.
It has also argued that Dominion’s business wasn’t damaged.
“Dominion’s lawsuit is a political crusade in search of a financial windfall, but the real cost would be cherished First Amendment rights. While Dominion has pushed irrelevant and misleading information to generate headlines, FOX News remains steadfast in protecting the rights of a free press, given a verdict for Dominion and its private equity owners would have grave consequences for the entire journalism profession," a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement.
Fox's lawyers have also argued that Fox Corp. wasn't involved in publishing the claims and therefore isn't liable for the alleged defamation.
Will Dominion have to prove Fox's claims about it were wrong?
No. Dominion has already proven in court that the claims are baseless; Judge Davis ruled that he would instruct the jury that the claims are false.
“The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that is CRYSTAL clear that none of the Statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true,” Davis wrote in an earlier 81-page ruling allowing the case to proceed to trial, emphasizing the word “crystal.”
Why is the case important?
The case is a historic media law dispute with far-reaching implications. A victory for Fox News may fuel lawmakers’ efforts to limit the protections media outlets enjoy and would undoubtedly embolden people who want to broadcast false claims and conspiracy theories. A victory for Dominion could fuel copycat lawsuits. It would also be the first real apparent price paid for the stolen election lies Trump and his allies advanced.
What’s the legal standard for defamation?
To prove Dominion was defamed, the company’s lawyers will need to prove that a damaging, false claim was published with actual malice — in other words, by a journalist who knew the claims were false or who recklessly disregarded the truth when they were published.
Who's in the jury?
At the end of last week, Davis announced the court had identified enough eligible jurors to impanel a jury. Lawyers will be permitted to strike certain jurors from the pool before the panel of 12 jurors (and 12 alternates) is seated. The court is then expected to take a short break before it returns to begin opening arguments.
The jurors will remain anonymous, identified only by numbers.
How long will this trial go?
The trial is expected to last five to six weeks.
Who will testify, and when?
The expected witness list includes a number of high-profile people, but when they might appear in court is an open question.
Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch and former House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., are expected to testify after Davis said he’s willing to compel their testimony. Past and present Fox News talent, including Maria Bartiromo, Tucker Carlson, Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity and Bret Baier, are on the lawyers’ witnesses list, as well.
Can I watch it on TV?
Nope. No cameras are allowed, which is the policy of the court. Davis denied a request Thursday by a coalition of media to record and broadcast audio excerpts of the trial, as well.
“You’re getting the most access of any media in a Superior Court case in Delaware,” he said Thursday.
Why is the case being tried in Delaware?
Fox Corp., the television networks’ parent company, is incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware.
Is it Dominion’s only lawsuit?
Nope. Dominion Voting Systems has brought a number of lawsuits against those it says defamed it after the 2020 election. So far, Dominion's lawyers have sued Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, as well as outlets Newsmax and One America News Network (OANN).
Could the parties still settle? When would the verdict come?
A settlement is possible up until the point a verdict is rendered — which is likely to be just before Memorial Day weekend. All 12 jurors must agree unanimously to find Fox liable for defamation.
Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems said this afternoon that they had reached a settlement agreement, just moments before opening arguments were set to begin.
Dominion, a privately owned company that makes voting equipment, was the subject of conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 presidential race as Donald Trump and his allies pushed the lie that the election, which he lost to Joe Biden, was stolen from him.
In 2021, the company filed a defamation suit against Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., challenging a number of the claims about Dominion made by hosts and guests on Fox News and Fox Business and by host Lou Dobbs on social media, and had sought $1.6 billion in damages.
Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis had agreed with Dominion that the claims were false. Had the trial proceeded, Dominion would have had to convince the Wilmington jury that Fox acted with “actual malice” — knowing something was false or with reckless disregard for the truth — when it aired the conspiracy theories.
Fox News had argued that the case is about the “First Amendment protections of the media’s absolute right to cover the news.”
Dominion settlement ranks among biggest for U.S. defamation suits
Although the $787.5 million settlement is less than half of the $1.6 billion in damages Dominion initially sought from Fox News, it's still one of the biggest known dollar amounts for a defamation lawsuit filed in the U.S.
“It might be the biggest of its kind in history,” said RonNell Andersen Jones, a professor at the University of Utah College of Law who specializes in the First Amendment.
The confidential aspect of most settlements means it's not possible to know whether there's been a larger one.
Another sizable defamation penalty came just last year in the Connecticut lawsuit brought against Infowars' Alex Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems. Last year, Jones was ordered to pay $1.4 billion for defamation stemming from the suit.
In that case, a judge ordered Jones to pay $473 million in punitive damages to families of the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting after he promoted false claims that the massacre was a hoax. The penalty was in addition to an earlier demand from jurors that Jones pay $965 million to the victims' families and an FBI agent who responded to the 2012 attack.
Bill O'Reilly on Dominion settlement: 'The nightmare will continue' for Fox
Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly reacted to today's settlement in part by highlighting the pending litigation facing his former employer.
"Going forward, Fox News faces a similar lawsuit from the Smartmatic Company and perhaps thousands of lawsuits from Fox shareholders. What a disaster," O'Reilly wrote on his website.
O’Reilly, who was ousted from the network in April 2017 after an internal investigation into allegations of sexual harassment, went on to criticize Fox.
“This is what happens when money becomes more important than honest information,” he wrote.
“Once the facts begin to overwhelm any point of view, a news agency has an obligation to say that,” O'Reilly said, adding that he lost more than a thousand paid members after he concluded the 2020 election was not stolen.
“Fox News saw it differently, and now payment has been rendered,” he said. “But the nightmare will continue for FNC.”
Dominion suggests no on-air apology coming from Fox
Pressed about whether the settlement would require Fox News to issue an on-air retraction, correction or apology, a Dominion spokesperson did not directly answer but indicated that Fox’s acknowledgment of having made false statements is likely to be the only apology the public would see.
“An apology is about accountability, and today Dominion held Fox accountable,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“Fox paid a historic settlement and issued a statement acknowledging that the statements about Dominion were false.”
In a statement after the settlement was announced in court, Fox News said, “We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false.”
'It's a bittersweet' day, Dominion lawyer says
April 18, 2023Dominion CEO full statement on settlement and Fox 'telling lies'
Dominion Voting Systems CEO John Poulos shared a lengthy statement after the company's $787.5 million "historic settlement" with Fox News was reached.
He noted that "Fox has admitted to telling lies" about his company and said, "Nothing can ever make up for that.""Throughout this process, we have sought accountability and believe the evidence brought to light through this case underscores the consequences of spreading and endorsing lies," Poulos said.
"Truthful reporting in the media is essential to our democracy," he added.
Poulos also thanked the court, election officials, the company's legal team and Staple Street Capital — the private equity firm that owns Dominion.
Dominion and Fox News reach settlement
April 18, 2023Smartmatic pledges to 'expose the rest' of Fox's 'disinformation campaign' in its own lawsuit
Lillian Rizzo, CNBC and Daniel Arkin
Dominion wasn't the only voting machine company suing Fox. Smartmatic, a multinational firm that makes electronic voting systems, is pursuing a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox in New York Supreme Court.
Smartmatic made it clear in a statement after the Dominion settlement was announced that it is not backing down:
"Dominion’s litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox’s disinformation campaign. Smartmatic will expose the rest. Smartmatic remains committed to clearing its name, recouping the significant damage done to the company, and holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy."
Fox Corp. shares decline briefly after settlement announcement
The price of Fox Corp. shares dropped briefly after news of its settlement broke but rebounded in after-hours trading to trade at $34. Shares of Fox Corp., the parent company of Fox News, are up about 12% in 2023.
The settlement of $787.5 million is sizable, but analysts believe the company could have weathered an even larger penalty.
Media Matters president calls Fox News 'partisan propaganda outlet'
Angelo Carusone, the president of Media Matters, a progressive media watchdog group that is a constant critic of Fox News, blasted the network in a statement after the settlement was reached, suggesting it peddled "propaganda" and is a "destructive force."
“The stain this leaves on Fox can’t be wiped out with money. The network has been completely exposed as a partisan propaganda outlet that is willing to do anything for profit and power," Carusone said, accusing the network of knowingly lying about the 2020 election. "What the Dominion trial offered was a keyhole view into the day-to-day industrial-scale deceit that takes place at Fox. It helped illustrate why the company is such a uniquely destructive force."
Dominion Voting Systems settled with Fox for $787.5 million, a lawyer for the voting technology company just told reporters outside the Delaware courthouse.
What happens to the special master investigation?
Hours before Dominion and Fox settled, the judge overseeing the trial appointed John Elzufon as a special master to investigate how the media company handled discovery.
It's not clear what becomes of that inquiry now that the parties have settled.
Asked what he expects will happen now, Elzufon said he wasn't sure.
"Quite frankly," he told NBC News. "I don’t know. So that’s the best answer I can give you."
No trial: Dominion and Fox lawyers reach a settlement
In a stunning move, lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems and Fox reached a last-minute settlement on Tuesday afternoon before opening statements in the high-stakes trial could begin.
The settlement heads off what would have been the biggest media trial in decades.
The two lead lawyers in the case went into the judge's chambers together for a short period of time before returning to the courtroom.
Dominion attorney Justin Nelson and Fox attorney Dan Webb continued huddling together in the courtroom.
Opening arguments had been scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. ET, but the judge has not returned to the bench, leading to speculation that settlement discussions were underway. The trial had been set to begin yesterday, but was delayed a day, which also triggered speculation about a settlement.
Judge appoints special master in Dominion v. Fox News case
April 18, 202304:14The judge has appointed a special master
Davis has formally appointed a special master to investigate Fox News over its handling of discovery, nearly a week after he scolded the media company for not turning over evidence in a timely fashion.
The judge tapped Delaware litigator John Elzufon to look into whether Fox complied with its discovery obligations heading into the defamation trial, according to a four-page filing.
The special master can depose whomever he wishes — and all those costs must be paid by Fox, as Davis explained from the bench last week.
Elzufon must provide a written report regarding the investigation no later than 4 p.m. ET May 15.
Mystery delay in trial opening continues
Dominion was scheduled to begin its approximately 90-minute opening statement to the jury at 1:30 p.m. ET, but as of 2:45 p.m., there was no sign of the judge or the jury, and no reason was given for the ongoing delay.
The trial was set to restart at 1:30 p.m. ET, but proceedings have yet to resume as we approach 15 minutes after the hour. No reason has been given for the delay.
First witness could be former Dominion spokesperson
The first witness who could be called to the stand is Tony Fratto, a veteran communications professional who acted as a spokesman for Dominion during the 2020 presidential election, according to CNBC's Eamon Javers.
Fratto is now the global head of communications for Goldman Sachs, according to his LinkedIn profile. He served as a spokesperson for the George W. Bush administration, including a three-year stint as deputy White House press secretary.
The judge said the court will resume at 1:30 p.m. ET and hear first from Dominion's team.
Court breaks for lunch
The court just started a lunch break that is expected to last approximately an hour.
Judge lays out trial days for jurors
Davis gave jurors a preview of what the days in court would look like.
He said the days' proceedings would begin at 9:30 a.m. each day, and would wrap up at about 4:30 p.m., though he indicated they could go a little longer or shorter depending on the flow of the trial.
Opening statements to take up most of the afternoon
The judge told jurors opening statements will begin after they have lunch.
Each side is expected to take 90 minutes, so the statements are expected to take up most of the afternoon session.
The judge said the first witness in the case will be called Wednesday.
Judge calls jury in for instructions
The judge called in the jury to deliver instructions on their use of notes, impartiality and what to expect moving forward.
He will allow jurors to take notes to help with recollection. The judge also said it would be a violation of their sworn duty to base their decision on anything besides evidence presented in the case.
He also told the jurors not to read the coverage of the trial.
The court will break for lunch after instructions, which will be followed by opening statements.
Judge warns courtroom not to take photos or record proceedings
The judge began by announcing that one person in the courtroom had been forced to leave after being caught taking photos — in violation of the rules set forth for the trial. The removed attendee was a Fox News PR representative.
The judge said that person told court officials that others were posting on Twitter — also a violation of the rules — from inside the courtroom.
The judge warned that anyone who was found breaking the rules would be removed and could be held in contempt of court.
What we learned from Murdoch's deposition
Murdoch is expected to be called to take the stand; his previous testimony in the case has already been made public in court filings.
Fox News was “trying to straddle the line between spewing conspiracy theories on one hand, yet calling out the fact that they are actually false on the other,” the News Corp. executive chairman said in his deposition.
Murdoch acknowledged in testimony that some hosts, including Sean Hannity, Dobbs and Bartiromo, had done more than just give a platform to baseless claims of voter fraud.
“Yes,” the media magnate said, according to the filings. “They endorsed.”
ICYMI: The judge rebuked Fox last week
Davis scolded Fox's lawyers last Wednesday, sanctioning the media company for withholding evidence in the trial. He said he was considering an investigation and formal censure.
Davis was frustrated that Fox had not turned over evidence in a timely manner, including recordings of Bartiromo speaking with longtime Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani about Dominion.
In one audio clip, a Trump official can be heard telling Fox News "there weren't any physical issues with the [voting] machines" during inspections.
The day before Davis sanctioned Fox, the judge appeared frustrated that the network had not been straightforward about Rupert Murdoch's role as leader of the media giant.
"This is a problem," the judge said, according to a court transcript. "I need to feel comfortable when you represent something to me that is the truth."
Fox lawyers later apologized in a letter to the judge for the "misunderstanding."
The lawyers have arrived
Susan Kroll
In a scene straight out of a movie, a flock of lawyers for Dominion arrived at the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center here in Wilmington minutes ago. They were followed by a gaggle of lawyers for Fox.
Who owns Dominion?
Dominion is at the center of one of the biggest media trials in decades. But you have probably heard considerably less about Staple Street Capital, the New York private equity firm that owns it.
Staple Street Capital paid $38.3 million for a roughly 75% majority stake in Dominion in July 2018. The firm valued the technology vendor at roughly $80 million at the time, Fox has said in legal filings.
Stephen D. Owens and Hootan Yaghoobzadeh, the co-founders of Staple Street, both used to work at the Carlyle Group, one of the most powerful private equity firms in the world.
Street Street says it has roughly $900 million in assets under management, with a portfolio that includes an IT services provider, a payroll reporting service, a natural gas compression company and a New Jersey-based flower bulb distributor.
Dominion v. Fox News defamation trial to get underway
April 18, 202305:08Judge in Trump docs case denies special counsel's request to keep list of 84 witnesses under wraps
A federal judge on Monday rejected a request from special counsel Jack Smith to keep secret a list of 84 potential witnesses in the prosecution of former President Donald Trump over his handling of classified documents.
Federal prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, to keep under seal a list of witnesses who Trump is barred from communicating with directly about the case.
In her order, Cannon said prosecutors failed to explain why it was necessary to keep the names under wraps, or why redacting or partially sealing the document would be inadequate.
NBC News has reached out to the special counsel's office and Justice Department for comment. Trump attorney Todd Blanche declined to comment on the order.
Lawyers for Trump took "no position" on Smith's motion but reserved the right to object to aspects of it, such as implementation, according to Cannon's order.
At Trump's arraignment this month, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman ordered Trump to sign a bond prohibiting him from speaking to certain witnesses, except through his attorneys. Goodman also asked Smith's team to provide a list of the witnesses Trump would be barred from communicating with directly.
In a filing Friday, the government said it had provided Trump's attorneys with the list, and asked that the former president and Walt Nauta, a Trump aide and alleged co-conspirator in the case, sign an acknowledgement that they had received the list.
"In order to implement Judge Goodman’s special condition of release, the government hereby moves to file the list of witnesses subject to the prohibition under seal with the Court," Jay Bratt on Smith's legal team wrote in Friday's filing.
Cannon’s order was welcomed by a coalition of news organizations, including NBC News, The Associated Press, The New York Times, CBS News, and others, that had argued the case presents issues of public and historical interest that “cannot be overstated,” and that the witness list reflected “a turning point from the secrecy of the Grand Jury investigation to the public administration of justice involving the highest level of power in American Government.”
“We are pleased that the Court recognized the First Amendment requires the government to meet a very high bar to seal any portion of these historic proceedings,” Chuck Tobin, an attorney for the press coalition, said in a statement Monday.
A federal grand jury indicted Trump on 37-counts related to keeping classified documents after he left office, and hiding them from authorities, according to a filing unsealed this month. The charges come after more than 100 classified documents were uncovered at the former president's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida last year. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges in a Miami court house.
In a separate order Monday, Cannon set a July 14 hearing date to discuss how classified materials will be handled in the case, as requested by the government.
She also granted the government’s request for the appointment of a classified information security officer to assist each side with the handling of any motions or orders related to the Classified Information Procedures Act.
Zoë Richards is the evening politics reporter for NBC News.
What the latest polling says about Trump's classified documents indictment
The new federal charges filed against former President Donald Trump over his alleged mishandling of classified documents put him — and voters — in an unprecedented situation, as he asks the American people to send him to the White House again while facing more criminal charges.
Trump's prior indictment in New York on charges alleging falsification of business documents didn't move the political needle much. In fact, it prompted Republicans to rally around him.
The new federal charges are of a different, serious nature, so it's unclear how the public may digest the accusations and the forthcoming trial. But there is recent polling that explains what Americans think about the prospect of Trump being charged with crimes, including some specifically about an indictment related to his handling of classified documents. Here's what the case means for Trump and the 2024 election.
Majorities say crimes Trump accused of are "serious"
A Yahoo-YouGov poll conducted in late May found that a majority of Americans believe that the crimes Trump has been accused of across multiple indictments are "serious."
Fifty-two percent called "falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments to a porn star," the allegation at the center of his Manhattan indictment, a serious crime. (Democrats and Republicans were deeply divided on this, while 49% of independents said it was a serious crime and 37% said it wasn't serious.)
Meanwhile, 63% of Americans, called "taking highly classified documents from the White House and obstructing efforts to retrieve them" a serious crime.
Significant majorities of Democrats (82%) and independents (62%) felt that way, as well as 66% of registered voters overall. But Republicans were more split on this question than others, with a plurality of 42% calling the crime serious and 35% saying it's not serious.
That's a critical distinction as Trump competes in the GOP presidential primary.
Americans were relatively split as to whether those two allegations changed their views on Trump. Just 13% said they felt more positive about Trump after hearing about these allegations, 34% said they felt more negative about him, and 43% said their view stayed the same.
Among Republicans, 43% said their view didn't change of Trump, 22% said the allegations made them feel more negative about Trump, while 27% said it made them feel more positively about him.
Majority of Americans don't think Trump should serve if convicted
The same Yahoo-YouGov poll showed 62% of Americans agreeing that Trump shouldn't be allowed to serve as president if he's convicted of a "serious crime."
That includes 63% of independents and 84% of Democrats, while Republicans were again split: 39% agreed he should not be allowed to serve, while 43% said he should.
Ahead of Trump's indictment in Manhattan, Quinnipiac University asked Americans whether they thought criminal charges, not an indictment, should disqualify Trump from running. A majority of Americans, including majorities of Democrats and independents, agreed, but three-quarters of Republicans said charges alone shouldn't disqualify Trump.
Republicans have said they want the party to rally around him
April's NBC News poll found that 68% of Republican primary voters believe the investigations into Trump are political and designed to blunt his presidential campaign, and they want the party to rally around him. Another 26% said they wanted their party to nominate a candidate who won't be distracted and can focus on beating President Joe Biden.
A slim majority of all voters, 52%, said that in his New York indictment, Trump has been treated like anyone else accused of those same crimes and hasn't been unfairly targeted.
But that comes in contrast to a Quinnipiac University finding from late March, when 62% of Americans said that Manhattan case is "mainly motivated by politics" versus the 32% who called it "mainly motivated by the law."
A number of other things have happened since the New York charges dropped, but Trump has seen his standing in the GOP presidential nominating contest tick up since that point. Trump had about 48% of the share of the GOP vote on average, per FiveThirtyEight's polling average, on April 1, with DeSantis at 28%.
As of June 8, Trump sat at 54% to DeSantis' 21%.
Americans may be more concerned about election-related allegations
Another April poll from The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that Americans are more likely to believe Trump did "something illegal" in relation to his conduct surrounding the 2020 election.
More than half — 53% — said his "alleged interference in Georgia's 2020 vote count" was illegal, 49% said the same about "his role in what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, 47% said the "classified documents found at his Florida home" amounted to something illegal, and 41% said the same about "allegations that he covered up hush money payments."
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From the journalists at NBC News and the NBC News Political Unit
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Fox Corp. settles 2020 election lawsuit as Dominion defamation case heads to trial
Fox Corp. privately settled a defamation case with the Venezuelan businessman Majed Khalil last week, according to a letter to the federal judge overseeing the case dated Saturday.
Khalil was ensnared in voting machine conspiracy theories advanced by Trump lawyer Sidney Powell on the Fox Business show “Lou Dobbs Tonight” and on social media, and he sued Fox Corp., Fox News and Dobbs for defamation.
The settlement comes days before Dominion Voting System’s sweeping defamation case heads to trial. The specific broadcast and tweet Khalil challenged are also challenged in Dominion’s suit. Fox canceled Dobbs' well-rated show in February 2021.
According to court documents, Khalil was described on Dobbs' show and on social media as a key player in a voting machine scheme tied to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez that Powell claimed was used to rig the 2020 U.S. election in a Dec. 10 broadcast that year. Dobbs’ Twitter account described it as a “cyber Pearl Harbor in the 2020 election" the same day.
According to Khalil's filing, he has never had business dealings or ties to the voting system companies Dominion or Smartmatic.
“The parties are pleased to jointly inform the Court that they have reached a confidential agreement to resolve this matter. The parties anticipate filing a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice early next week,” the attorneys said in a letter to the court.
U.S. District Court Judge Louis Stanton of the Southern District of New York shot down a motion to dismiss the proceedings last year, disagreeing with Fox News’ argument that the broadcast and tweet promoting it were protected by the First Amendment and other legal protections. Khalil was never contacted by Fox Business in its reporting, the order noted, even as he was repeatedly identified as a player in a criminal scheme.
“This matter has been resolved amicably by both sides," a Fox News spokesperson said. "We have no further comment.”
RonNell Andersen Jones, a professor at the University of Utah College of Law who specializes in the First Amendment, said the settlement previews a key part of the upcoming trial.
"It confirms that one of the trickiest pieces for Fox in all of this is the messaging that came out of Lou Dobbs," she said.
Dominion v. Fox News
Fox likely to see limited business fallout from a settlement that could remake Dominion
While the cable network has weathered costly public uproar over its broadcasts before, the voting machine maker’s nine-figure payout may well prove transformative.
Special master investigation into Fox News scrapped after Dominion settlement
Special master investigation into Fox News ends after Dominion settlement
The lawyer appointed as special master in the Fox News defamation trial will no longer investigate the company now that it has settled with Dominion Voting Systems for nearly $800 million, a source familiar with the situation said.
Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis appointed Delaware litigator John A. Elzufon on Tuesday morning to investigate whether Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., had "complied with their discovery obligations" ahead of the trial.
The $787.5 million settlement reached Tuesday afternoon headed off what would have been one of the most explosive American media trials in decades, and it initially raised the question of whether Elzufon's work would proceed.
The source familiar with the matter said Tuesday night that the special master's investigation will not move forward. Dominion declined to comment, and Fox did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Elzufon had been given a wide investigative berth. In a four-page filing Tuesday morning, Davis said that Elzufon could request depositions with whomever he wished and that Fox must pay the associated costs.
Davis last week sanctioned Fox for not having turned over evidence in a timely fashion. The evidence in question included audio recordings of Rudy Giuliani appearing to concede to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo that he did not have proof of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
The recordings were turned over by Abby Grossberg, a former Fox News producer who is suing the network, alleging in part that she was harassed. Fox News has said Grossberg's legal claims are "unmeritorious."
In one of the recordings, from November 2020, Bartiromo asks Giuliani for evidence of fraud by Dominion, and he replies, “That’s a little harder to tell you — it’s being analyzed right now.”
Giuliani also says he “can’t prove” that Nancy Pelosi, then the speaker of the House, had an interest in Dominion.
In a second clip, from December 2020, a Trump official can be heard telling Fox News “there weren’t any physical issues with the [voting] machines” during inspections.
In a statement Tuesday evening, Grossberg's lawyer, Gerry Filippatos, said in part that he was "profoundly disappointed to have learned that the Court has apparently chosen to allow Fox News to abuse the discovery process and pillory Abby Grossberg's good character in open court without an adequate investigation into the unabashed misconduct of Fox News and its attorneys."
Dominion, a privately held company that makes voting equipment, sued Fox for airing false allegations of voter fraud after President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden. It sought $1.6 billion in damages.
Twelve jurors were seated before the court broke for lunch Tuesday. Then, after a lengthy afternoon delay, Davis returned to the bench and announced that the two sides had "resolved their case."
Daniel ArkinDaniel Arkin is a national reporter at NBC News.
Special master investigation into Fox News scrapped after Dominion settlement
Dominion and Fox News settle defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million
Fox News and Dominion reach $787.5 million settlement in defamation lawsuit
WILMINGTON, Del. — Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems reached a $787.5 million settlement agreement Tuesday afternoon, the parties announced, narrowly heading off a trial shortly after the jury was sworn in.
“Fox has admitted to telling lies,” John Poulos, Dominion’s CEO, said at a news conference after the trial ended.
Justin Nelson, lead attorney for Dominion, told NBC News he hopes the settlement will restore faith in elections.
“This alone can’t do it, right? But this shows that there is accountability, that we showed that if you are caught lying, you will be held responsible,” he said.
Absent from the settlement details shared with the public was an apology or any admission that the network had indeed defamed Dominion when it allowed baseless conspiracies to proliferate on air about the company's voting machines "rigging" 2020 presidential election against Donald Trump. A statement from Fox about the agreement recognized the court's previous ruling that the claims Dominion had challenged in its defamation lawsuit were indeed without merit.
"We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false," the Fox statement said. “This settlement reflects Fox’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues.”
When pressed, a spokesperson for Dominion said “an apology is about accountability, and today Dominion held Fox accountable.”
Stephen Shackelford Jr., the attorney who had been expected to give opening statements for Dominion on Tuesday, said “money is accountability."
Rumors of settlement talks had been buzzing for days, particularly after the court said late Sunday it would delay the conclusion of jury selection and opening arguments to Tuesday morning.
The deal ends a monthslong legal battle over whether the media company had defamed the voting machine maker when Fox broadcast election conspiracy theories in 2020. The resolution came in the eleventh hour, after the jury was in place and reporters and lawyers had waited for hours for opening statements to begin.
"The parties have resolved their case," Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said Tuesday afternoon, informing the jurors of the settlement. "That means your service is done and I’m going to excuse you. Sorry about making you wait."
Dominion sued Fox News in 2021, demanding $1.6 billion in damages. It said the network defamed it when it broadcast baseless claims that it was tied to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, that it paid kickbacks to politicians and that its machines “rigged” the 2020 presidential election by flipping millions of votes for Trump to Joe Biden.
The settlement came after a bruising week for Fox News. During pretrial conference hearings, Davis sanctioned the network for withholding evidence, and admonished it for not being straightforward with him. He said he would allow Dominion to conduct an additional deposition with Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch at Fox’s expense. Davis also ruled that Fox lawyers could not use newsworthiness as a legal defense, limiting their possible trial strategies.
On Tuesday, Davis also appointed a special master to investigate whether Fox had adequately complied with court-ordered discovery. That probe was ended by the settlement, too.
Few defamation suits make it this far, but outside legal experts say the case — and the extraordinary claims and evidence fueling it — was unique.
The settlement is a strong outcome for Dominion, those experts said, which won't have to wait years for a potential jury-awarded payout stuck in the appeals process.
Not all settlement terms are disclosed, but experts say they believe Fox's payout to be among the biggest.
"This number is not small," said RonNell Andersen Jones, a professor at the University of Utah College of Law who specializes in the First Amendment. “It might be the biggest of its kind in history."
Juries are always a risk, especially in a politically divisive case, she added.
"While going to a jury based on 'presumed damages' and malice often results in tremendous damages, it’s still a crapshoot," Anthony Michael Glassman, a longtime media lawyer who has represented both news outlets and the subjects of stories, said in an email.
A hefty settlement without a trial "is the right way to go," he added.
Jane C. TimmJane C. Timm is a senior reporter for NBC News.
Dominion v. Fox News Daniel Arkin contributed.
Fox News and Dominion reach settlement on first day of trial
Fox News and Dominion reach settlement on first day of trial
What we're following
- Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems said this afternoon that they had reached a settlement agreement, just moments before opening arguments were set to begin.
- Dominion, a privately owned company that makes voting equipment, was the subject of conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 presidential race as Donald Trump and his allies pushed the lie that the election, which he lost to Joe Biden, was stolen from him.
- In 2021, the company filed a defamation suit against Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., challenging a number of the claims about Dominion made by hosts and guests on Fox News and Fox Business and by host Lou Dobbs on social media, and had sought $1.6 billion in damages.
- Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis had agreed with Dominion that the claims were false. Had the trial proceeded, Dominion would have had to convince the Wilmington jury that Fox acted with “actual malice” — knowing something was false or with reckless disregard for the truth — when it aired the conspiracy theories.
- Fox News had argued that the case is about the “First Amendment protections of the media’s absolute right to cover the news.”
Scoop: The special master investigation is over, source says
The lawyer appointed as special master in the defamation trial will no longer investigate Fox News now that Dominion and the media giant have settled the case, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Judge Eric Davis this morning appointed Delaware litigator John A. Elzufon to probe whether Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., had "complied with their discovery obligations." The settlement reached between both parties this afternoon averted a trial but initially left unclear whether Elzufon's work would continue.
The source familiar with the matter said tonight that Elzufon's investigation will not go forward.
Dominion declined to comment, and Fox did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Davis last week sanctioned Fox for not turning over evidence in a timely fashion. The evidence in question included audio recordings of Rudy Giuliani appearing to concede to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo that he did not have proof of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
Elzufon had been given a wide investigative berth. In a four-page filing this morning, Davis said Elzufon could request depositions with whomever he wishes and that the associated costs must be paid by Fox.
Dominion settlement ranks among biggest for U.S. defamation suits
Although the $787.5 million settlement is less than half of the $1.6 billion in damages Dominion initially sought from Fox News, it's still one of the biggest known dollar amounts for a defamation lawsuit filed in the U.S.
“It might be the biggest of its kind in history,” said RonNell Andersen Jones, a professor at the University of Utah College of Law who specializes in the First Amendment.
The confidential aspect of most settlements means it's not possible to know whether there's been a larger one.
Another sizable defamation penalty came just last year in the Connecticut lawsuit brought against Infowars' Alex Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems. Last year, Jones was ordered to pay $1.4 billion for defamation stemming from the suit.
In that case, a judge ordered Jones to pay $473 million in punitive damages to families of the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting after he promoted false claims that the massacre was a hoax. The penalty was in addition to an earlier demand from jurors that Jones pay $965 million to the victims' families and an FBI agent who responded to the 2012 attack.
Bill O'Reilly on Dominion settlement: 'The nightmare will continue' for Fox
Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly reacted to today's settlement in part by highlighting the pending litigation facing his former employer.
"Going forward, Fox News faces a similar lawsuit from the Smartmatic Company and perhaps thousands of lawsuits from Fox shareholders. What a disaster," O'Reilly wrote on his website.
O’Reilly, who was ousted from the network in April 2017 after an internal investigation into allegations of sexual harassment, went on to criticize Fox.
“This is what happens when money becomes more important than honest information,” he wrote.
“Once the facts begin to overwhelm any point of view, a news agency has an obligation to say that,” O'Reilly said, adding that he lost more than a thousand paid members after he concluded the 2020 election was not stolen.
“Fox News saw it differently, and now payment has been rendered,” he said. “But the nightmare will continue for FNC.”
Dominion suggests no on-air apology coming from Fox
Pressed about whether the settlement would require Fox News to issue an on-air retraction, correction or apology, a Dominion spokesperson did not directly answer but indicated that Fox’s acknowledgment of having made false statements is likely to be the only apology the public would see.
“An apology is about accountability, and today Dominion held Fox accountable,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“Fox paid a historic settlement and issued a statement acknowledging that the statements about Dominion were false.”
In a statement after the settlement was announced in court, Fox News said, “We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false.”
'It's a bittersweet' day, Dominion lawyer says
April 18, 2023Dominion lawyer on Fox settlement: 'The truth matters'
Dominion lawyer Stephen Shackelford said he hoped the settlement will have a lasting impact on the news industry.
In an MSNBC News interview, Shackelford praised Judge Eric Davis for not giving Fox News a "free pass" and for recognizing that "just because something is newsworthy, if you know it's a lie, you can't publish it, or you face liability."
"The truth matters, and $787.5 million, hopefully, will make a difference the next time a major news network decides to put profits over the truth," Shackelford added.
Dominion CEO full statement on settlement and Fox 'telling lies'
Dominion Voting Systems CEO John Poulos shared a lengthy statement after the company's $787.5 million "historic settlement" with Fox News was reached.
He noted that "Fox has admitted to telling lies" about his company and said, "Nothing can ever make up for that.""Throughout this process, we have sought accountability and believe the evidence brought to light through this case underscores the consequences of spreading and endorsing lies," Poulos said.
"Truthful reporting in the media is essential to our democracy," he added.
Poulos also thanked the court, election officials, the company's legal team and Staple Street Capital — the private equity firm that owns Dominion.
Smartmatic pledges to 'expose the rest' of Fox's 'disinformation campaign' in its own lawsuit
Lillian Rizzo, CNBC and Daniel Arkin
Dominion wasn't the only voting machine company suing Fox. Smartmatic, a multinational firm that makes electronic voting systems, is pursuing a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox in New York Supreme Court.
Smartmatic made it clear in a statement after the Dominion settlement was announced that it is not backing down:
"Dominion’s litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox’s disinformation campaign. Smartmatic will expose the rest. Smartmatic remains committed to clearing its name, recouping the significant damage done to the company, and holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy."
Dominion CEO: ‘Fox has admitted to telling lies’
Dominion Voting Systems CEO John Poulos said outside the courtroom that "Fox has admitted to telling lies" in reaching a $787.5 million settlement in the monthslong legal battle.
Dominion sued Fox News in 2021, alleging it defamed the voting machine maker as it shared baseless claims that Dominion's voting machines had "rigged" the 2020 presidential election and flipped millions of votes.
The lawsuit had demanded $1.6 billion in damages.
Fox Corp. shares decline briefly after settlement announcement
The price of Fox Corp. shares dropped briefly after news of its settlement broke but rebounded in after-hours trading to trade at $34. Shares of Fox Corp., the parent company of Fox News, are up about 12% in 2023.
The settlement of $787.5 million is sizable, but analysts believe the company could have weathered an even larger penalty.
Media Matters president calls Fox News 'partisan propaganda outlet'
Angelo Carusone, the president of Media Matters, a progressive media watchdog group that is a constant critic of Fox News, blasted the network in a statement after the settlement was reached, suggesting it peddled "propaganda" and is a "destructive force."
“The stain this leaves on Fox can’t be wiped out with money. The network has been completely exposed as a partisan propaganda outlet that is willing to do anything for profit and power," Carusone said, accusing the network of knowingly lying about the 2020 election. "What the Dominion trial offered was a keyhole view into the day-to-day industrial-scale deceit that takes place at Fox. It helped illustrate why the company is such a uniquely destructive force."
Dominion Voting Systems settled with Fox for $787.5 million, a lawyer for the voting technology company just told reporters outside the Delaware courthouse.
Fox Corp. 'pleased' to settle Dominion case
Fox Corp. said in a statement it was "pleased to have reached a settlement" and "hopeful" it would help the country move on.
"We acknowledge the court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects Fox’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards," the statement said. "We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues.”
What happens to the special master investigation?
Hours before Dominion and Fox settled, the judge overseeing the trial appointed John Elzufon as a special master to investigate how the media company handled discovery.
It's not clear what becomes of that inquiry now that the parties have settled.
Asked what he expects will happen now, Elzufon said he wasn't sure.
"Quite frankly," he told NBC News. "I don’t know. So that’s the best answer I can give you."
Judge commends Dominion and Fox attorneys for their 'lawyering'
Judge Davis commended both sides for their excellent legal work, noting "this is the best lawyering I've ever had."
Davis noted that he had been on the bench since 2013, but he said he had "never had as good a lawyering" in his courtroom. He acknowledged the quality of the briefings, the attorneys' abilities and the workload they'd taken on.
"I just want to say I would be proud to be your judge in the future," he said.
Davis had previously excoriated Fox's lawyers for allegedly withholding evidence and expressed clear skepticism about their defense. Just prior to the settlement, Davis had appointed a special master to investigate how the media company handled court-ordered discovery.
Judge thanks jury for their (short) service
Judge Davis thanked jurors for their brief service after announcing the parties had settled the case.
The 12 jurors and 12 alternates were seated late Tuesday morning for what they were told would be a six-week trial, with opening statements starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. Instead they wound up being dismissed at 4 p.m.
"It's short compared to what you thought," Davis said, before assuring them their service was important.
"Without you, the parties would not have been able to resolve their situation," the judge said.
No trial: Dominion and Fox lawyers reach a settlement
In a stunning move, lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems and Fox reached a last-minute settlement on Tuesday afternoon before opening statements in the high-stakes trial could begin.
The settlement heads off what would have been the biggest media trial in decades.
Court returns from extended break
The court has returned from an extended break. After being scheduled to return at 1:30 p.m., it was almost 4 p.m. before the court resumed.
Top Dominion, Fox lawyers emerge from judge's chambers
The two lead lawyers in the case went into the judge's chambers together for a short period of time before returning to the courtroom.
Dominion attorney Justin Nelson and Fox attorney Dan Webb continued huddling together in the courtroom.
Opening arguments had been scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. ET, but the judge has not returned to the bench, leading to speculation that settlement discussions were underway. The trial had been set to begin yesterday, but was delayed a day, which also triggered speculation about a settlement.
Judge appoints special master in Dominion v. Fox News case
April 18, 202304:14The judge has appointed a special master
Davis has formally appointed a special master to investigate Fox News over its handling of discovery, nearly a week after he scolded the media company for not turning over evidence in a timely fashion.
The judge tapped Delaware litigator John Elzufon to look into whether Fox complied with its discovery obligations heading into the defamation trial, according to a four-page filing.
The special master can depose whomever he wishes — and all those costs must be paid by Fox, as Davis explained from the bench last week.
Elzufon must provide a written report regarding the investigation no later than 4 p.m. ET May 15.
Mystery delay in trial opening continues
Dominion was scheduled to begin its approximately 90-minute opening statement to the jury at 1:30 p.m. ET, but as of 2:45 p.m., there was no sign of the judge or the jury, and no reason was given for the ongoing delay.
The trial was set to restart at 1:30 p.m. ET, but proceedings have yet to resume as we approach 15 minutes after the hour. No reason has been given for the delay.
First witness could be former Dominion spokesperson
The first witness who could be called to the stand is Tony Fratto, a veteran communications professional who acted as a spokesman for Dominion during the 2020 presidential election, according to CNBC's Eamon Javers.
Fratto is now the global head of communications for Goldman Sachs, according to his LinkedIn profile. He served as a spokesperson for the George W. Bush administration, including a three-year stint as deputy White House press secretary.
Inside the courtroom: Lawyers packed in like sardines
The court prohibits reporters from sending dispatches in real-time while inside the courtroom, but Jane C. Timm offers this view from the room while on lunch break.
The Delaware Superior Court’s largest courtroom is packed to the gills for the first day of trial, with lawyers, reporters, publicists and members of the public filling the long rows of wooden benches.
While the top lawyers sit at cushy chairs in front of large desks inside the well of the court, more than a dozen of their law firm colleagues are in the first rows behind the bar. Those colleagues — a mix of lawyers and support staff — are packed so tightly that some have arms around their colleagues.
Rows of reporters sit behind them clacking away on keyboards, earning a request from Davis that reporters attempt to type more quietly so as not to make the jurors think one moment is more noteworthy than others. In this room, the typing itself can cause quite a din and the judge said he worried it would influence the jury.
HBO documentary included in Fox's list of exhibits
No. 4,787 on Fox's list of exhibits is the HBO documentary film "Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America's Elections," which premiered in March 2020.
The 90-minute film "takes a chilling look into the vulnerability of election technology," according to a summary on HBO Max's website. The film prominently features Harri Hursti, a leading voting security expert.
It was not immediately clear why Fox put "Kill Chain" on its list of exhibits. The document shows that Dominion's lawyers objected to its inclusion on hearsay grounds.
The judge said the court will resume at 1:30 p.m. ET and hear first from Dominion's team.
Court breaks for lunch
The court just started a lunch break that is expected to last approximately an hour.
Judge lays out trial days for jurors
Davis gave jurors a preview of what the days in court would look like.
He said the days' proceedings would begin at 9:30 a.m. each day, and would wrap up at about 4:30 p.m., though he indicated they could go a little longer or shorter depending on the flow of the trial.
Opening statements to take up most of the afternoon
The judge told jurors opening statements will begin after they have lunch.
Each side is expected to take 90 minutes, so the statements are expected to take up most of the afternoon session.
The judge said the first witness in the case will be called Wednesday.
Judge calls jury in for instructions
The judge called in the jury to deliver instructions on their use of notes, impartiality and what to expect moving forward.
He will allow jurors to take notes to help with recollection. The judge also said it would be a violation of their sworn duty to base their decision on anything besides evidence presented in the case.
He also told the jurors not to read the coverage of the trial.
The court will break for lunch after instructions, which will be followed by opening statements.
Judge warns courtroom not to take photos or record proceedings
The judge began by announcing that one person in the courtroom had been forced to leave after being caught taking photos — in violation of the rules set forth for the trial. The removed attendee was a Fox News PR representative.
The judge said that person told court officials that others were posting on Twitter — also a violation of the rules — from inside the courtroom.
The judge warned that anyone who was found breaking the rules would be removed and could be held in contempt of court.
D'oh-minion: Fox's exhibit list includes four clips from 'The Simpsons'
Fox's lengthy list of trial exhibits includes four clips from "The Simpsons," a cornerstone of the Fox broadcasting network's prime-time lineup for more than 30 years.
The clips in question each include scenes in which Homer Simpson votes in a presidential election:
— Season 20's "Treehouse of Horror XIX" shows him attempting to cast a ballot for Barack Obama.
— The promotional short "Homer Votes 2012" shows him voting for Mitt Romney.
— The YouTube short "Homer Votes 2016" features Russian President Vladimir Putin disguising himself as an American voter and trying to convince Homer to vote for Trump.
— Season 32's "Treehouse of Horror XXXI" finds Homer unsure whether to vote for Trump or Biden.
It was not immediately clear why the clips were included in Fox's list of exhibits. The half-hour prime-time version of "The Simpsons" has aired on Fox since 1989, although the series is now technically produced by Disney, which acquired Murdoch's entertainment assets in 2019.
What we learned from Murdoch's deposition
Murdoch is expected to be called to take the stand; his previous testimony in the case has already been made public in court filings.
Fox News was “trying to straddle the line between spewing conspiracy theories on one hand, yet calling out the fact that they are actually false on the other,” the News Corp. executive chairman said in his deposition.
Murdoch acknowledged in testimony that some hosts, including Sean Hannity, Dobbs and Bartiromo, had done more than just give a platform to baseless claims of voter fraud.
“Yes,” the media magnate said, according to the filings. “They endorsed.”
Dominion exhibit list is really long
Dominion submitted its list of trial exhibits to the court, and it's lengthy — more than 7,000 exhibits.
The list of 7,021 exhibits includes videos and transcripts from Fox, emails and text exchanges involving Fox employees, Trump tweets and a variety of other documents.
Fox's exhibit list is not short either — it includes 5,169 items.
ICYMI: The judge rebuked Fox last week
Davis scolded Fox's lawyers last Wednesday, sanctioning the media company for withholding evidence in the trial. He said he was considering an investigation and formal censure.
Davis was frustrated that Fox had not turned over evidence in a timely manner, including recordings of Bartiromo speaking with longtime Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani about Dominion.
In one audio clip, a Trump official can be heard telling Fox News "there weren't any physical issues with the [voting] machines" during inspections.
The day before Davis sanctioned Fox, the judge appeared frustrated that the network had not been straightforward about Rupert Murdoch's role as leader of the media giant.
"This is a problem," the judge said, according to a court transcript. "I need to feel comfortable when you represent something to me that is the truth."
Fox lawyers later apologized in a letter to the judge for the "misunderstanding."
The jury is seated
Twelve jurors have been seated. The court is now moving to seat the 12 alternate jurors.
The judge told the court that new exhibits were filed overnight. Opening statements are expected to begin soon.
Jury selection has begun.
The lawyers have arrived
Susan Kroll
In a scene straight out of a movie, a flock of lawyers for Dominion arrived at the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center here in Wilmington minutes ago. They were followed by a gaggle of lawyers for Fox.
Who owns Dominion?
Dominion is at the center of one of the biggest media trials in decades. But you have probably heard considerably less about Staple Street Capital, the New York private equity firm that owns it.
Staple Street Capital paid $38.3 million for a roughly 75% majority stake in Dominion in July 2018. The firm valued the technology vendor at roughly $80 million at the time, Fox has said in legal filings.
Stephen D. Owens and Hootan Yaghoobzadeh, the co-founders of Staple Street, both used to work at the Carlyle Group, one of the most powerful private equity firms in the world.
Street Street says it has roughly $900 million in assets under management, with a portfolio that includes an IT services provider, a payroll reporting service, a natural gas compression company and a New Jersey-based flower bulb distributor.
What the jury will be asked to consider
The jury will be asked to consider whether Fox News journalists acted with actual malice — knowing falsity or reckless disregard for the truth — in publishing the claims and whether damages are due.
It will also be asked to weigh Fox Corp.’s involvement in the publication of the alleged defamatory statements.
Fired Fox News producer says she found more evidence relevant to Dominion case
Ex-Fox News producer Abby Grossberg said she recently found more evidence relevant to Dominion’s defamation suit against her former employer and plans to turn it over to the court.
Grossberg, who worked as a senior producer for hosts Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson, alleged in a new sworn statement obtained by NBC News that Fox lawyers ignored repeated reminders about an additional cellphone in her possession and did not search it during court-ordered discovery.
In the statement, Grossberg said she repeatedly told Fox lawyers that she had an inoperable company-issued cellphone that she used during 2020 election coverage. Fox lawyers told her to hang on to the device but never searched it or copied her files, as they did with her other phones, according to the statement.
Why Dominion won't have to prove to the jury that the claims Fox aired are false
In allowing the case to go to trial last last month, Davis handed Dominion a major win when he agreed that the challenged statements are false.
The ruling spares Dominion from having to litigate baseless conspiracy theories about its role in the 2020 election.
“The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that is CRYSTAL clear that none of the Statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true,” the judge wrote in his 81-page ruling, emphasizing the word “crystal” in bold.
Fox News had argued that the challenged comments were opinion and protected as such, but Davis disagreed.
“The Court finds, as a matter of law, that the Statements are either fact or mixed opinion,” he wrote. “The Statements were capable of being proven true, and in fact the evidence that would prove the Statements was discussed many times (but never presented).”
In private, Fox News stars and staffers blasted election fraud claims as bogus, court filings show
Court filings unsealed leading up to the case going to trial gave the public an unprecedented look behind the scenes at Fox News after the 2020 election.
The filings, along with the underlying exhibits, showed that executives, stars and producers of the network knew the claims about Dominion were without merit.
The trove of internal communications also suggested that Fox News zeroed in on fraud claims to boost ratings and appease its core viewers, who executives feared were abandoning the channel for other conservative media outlets — particularly after Fox News was the first network to project that Biden had won the key battleground state of Arizona on his way to winning the White House in 2020.
What you need to know about the Dominion v. Fox News trial
As then-President Trump and his allies relentlessly pushed the lie that the 2020 election he legitimately lost to Biden was stolen from him, baseless conspiracy theories about the voting machines made by Dominion proliferated.
In 2021, Dominion filed a defamation suit against Fox News and its parent company, challenging a number of statements made on air by hosts and guests and seeking $1.6 billion in damages for harm it said was caused by lies about its machines.
The judge has already agreed with Dominion that the statements were wrong. However, Fox News has argued that the network was reporting on Trump's extraordinary claims of election fraud. In defending against the claims, Fox says that it is fighting to protect press freedoms and that the U.S. Constitution shields its work.
Read more about the case, and what's at stake, here.
Spokespeople for Dominion and Fox put out new statements over the weekend ahead of the trial's start.
“In the coming weeks, we will prove Fox spread lies causing enormous damage to Dominion. We look forward to trial," a spokesperson for Dominion said.
A spokesperson for Fox said: “Dominion’s lawsuit is a political crusade in search of a financial windfall, but the real cost would be cherished First Amendment rights. While Dominion has pushed irrelevant and misleading information to generate headlines, Fox News remains steadfast in protecting the rights of a free press, given a verdict for Dominion and its private equity owners would have grave consequences for the entire journalism profession.”