Fox misled its viewers.
It was cynical. Dishonest. Morally wrong.
And good business.
"We completed another successful year at FOX, with Fiscal 2022 results demonstrating the strength and durability of our core brands and their ability to deliver consistent audiences across the entirety of FOX. These results validate the strategy we embarked on three years ago. . . . ."
Lachlan Murdoch, Fox CEO, August 2022
Readers who watch mainstream TV or who read the New York Times or Washington Post observe gloating over the supposed comeuppance in store for Fox. The Dominion lawsuit may cost Fox over a billion dollars! It will destroy them!
Moreover, consumers of mainstream news learn of the Dominion depositions destroying the credibility of Fox News. The hosts lied! They knew Trump lost! Tucker hates Trump! What damage! Kieth Olbermann's podcast expresses delight that Tucker Carlson worsened the case against Fox by calling the January 6 riot "mostly peaceful chaos" amid "sightseers." Olbermann calls Carlson an idiot and Fox saboteur.
I beg to differ. Readers who perceive Fox News as a threat to American democracy need to understand that none of this hurts Fox. It helps them.
First, recognize that Fox may not lose the case. News organizations routinely present points of view they don't agree with. It is a gray area and there is a strong presumption of freedom of speech and the press in presenting election controversy. The freedom to present a variety of ideas is a good thing for democracy. Readers ought not to be quick to hope Fox loses this. The next case may be the New York Times or the comment section of this blog.
Second, it is not clear what the financial damages are to Dominion, if any. Two years ago Dominion was unknown. Now Dominion is a household name. Two years ago the world presumed Dominion tabulated votes correctly. Now there is audited and re-audited demonstration that they tabulate correctly. Some bright red jurisdictions will refuse to use Dominion machines to avoid local criticism and controversy, but that wasn't just Fox's doing. It was Trump's and that of other election-denying politicians. County clerks who discard Dominion machines are bowing to pressure from many directions.
Doesn't all this hurt Fox's reputation? Won't a trial further expose that they are distorting news to suit their audience's ignorance and prejudices? Isn't that catastrophic for them?
No. It is the opposite. Consumers of conservative media barely hear about this lawsuit. It isn't covered by them. When bits and pieces of this news drifts in from elsewhere, Republican voters have been well alerted that the information is "fake," or at least deeply biased. It is just more lies from the liberal elite media.
Fox is winning points for loyalty. Loyalty is a stronger value than "truth." Loyalty is evident and measurable. "Truth" is questionable and a matter of opinion. Facts can be disputed. Tucker Carlson showed video of people just standing there. Some people weren't rioting. See? Facts show they were just sightseers.
Fox News is very profitable. They will pay any judgement out of the profits they earn by being who they are. They have a business model of catering to the Republican team.
FOX REPORTS FULL YEAR FISCAL 2022 REVENUES OF $13.97 BILLION, NET INCOME OF $1.23 BILLION, AND ADJUSTED EBITDA OF $2.96 BILLION
Any judgement is just the cost of doing business. Insofar as their audience heard about it at all, the audience would learn it is "liberal cancel culture" at work against the good-guy Fox. When Johnson & Johnson learned that its Tylenol packages had been tampered with they took them off the shelves immediately, to great fanfare and at a cost of millions. They destroyed them to more fanfare. They put new pills on shelves packaged in tamperproof containers. Johnson & Johnson was a hero, the victim who paid the price to protect their customers. Tylenol was re-positioned as the safest tablet to take. It was a huge win.
Cheerleaders are not judged on their objectivity. They are expected to cheer win! win! win! when their team is objectively losing. They are advocates and fans are fans. We expect loyalty from cheerleaders. Fox anchors lied. All the better proof of their loyalty.
Fox is not a normal straight-news organization. They know they have a point of view and so does its audience. They are a cheerleader for the Republican brand, and they are protecting that very profitable business.
You're undoubtedly correct, Peter, but very discouraging.
Good blog. There is truth and there is narrative. Politics is about narrative from a perspective.