Appellate Court Rules Media Can Legally Lie

September 15, 2004

The ramifications of this are incredible...

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Misty L. Trepke

By Mike Gaddy

SierraTimes.com

On February 14, a Florida Appeals court ruled there is absolutely

nothing illegal about lying, concealing or distorting information by

a major press organization. The court reversed the $425,000 jury

verdict in favor of journalist Jane Akre who charged she was

pressured by Fox Television management and lawyers to air what she

knew and documented to be false information. The ruling basically

declares it is technically not against any law, rule, or regulation

to deliberately lie or distort the news on a television broadcast.

On August 18, 2000, a six-person jury was unanimous in its conclusion

that Akre was indeed fired for threatening to report the station's

pressure to broadcast what jurors decided was " a false, distorted, or

slanted " story about the widespread use of growth hormone in dairy

cows. The court did not dispute the heart of Akre's claim, that Fox

pressured her to broadcast a false story to protect the broadcaster

from having to defend the truth in court, as well as suffer the ire

of irate advertisers.

Fox argued from the first, and failed on three separate occasions, in

front of three different judges, to have the case tossed out on the

grounds there is no hard, fast, and written rule against deliberate

distortion of the news. The attorneys for Fox, owned by media baron

Rupert Murdock, argued the First Amendment gives broadcasters the

right to lie or deliberately distort news reports on the public

airwaves.

In its six-page written decision, the Court of Appeals held that the

Federal Communications Commission position against news distortion is

only a " policy, " not a promulgated law, rule, or regulation.

Fox aired a report after the ruling saying it was " totally indicated "

by the verdict.

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