Fox Loses--and Wins Again

By Don Varyu

April 18, 2023

Yep--we all wanted to see it. That sniveling Tucker Carlson sweating bullets in the in the witness box...trying to explain how he was a journalist...and more importantly, what he meant when he texted that he hated Donald Trump "passionately." That would have been sweet.

But the settlement between his employer, Fox News, and the Dominion voting machine corporation was nothing more than a fizzle. Fox agreed to pay $787 million--not exactly pocket change--but they got off without issuing an apology or any promist to change anything.

Three things on this:

(1) The Cost is Small. Three quarters of a billion dollars is not nothing. It is effectively ten times Dominion's market value. But the hedge fund that owns Dominion (and likely called the shots on the settlement) is probably very happy. This, for them, is found money--minus attorney fees. To take this cash was a no-brainer. On the other hand, the settlement is just seven percent of parent company News Corporation's revenues last year...and less than five percent of the total assets on its balance sheet. This is just a cost of doing business.

(2) The Game Plan is Unchanged. For years, the Fox News battle plan has been to invent lies...and reap the rewards. Among those most rewarded is the hypocritical corpus known as Tucker Carlson. Fox News reportedly pays him $6 million a year...but that's not relevant. As an heir to the Swanson (now Hungry Man) frozen dinner business, he, and his four Stepford children, will never have to eat a frozen dinner in their lives. His net worth is estimated at $30 million--and growing. But do you think Fox will in any way punish him for taking part in any action that led to the $787 million judgement? Seems impossible. As stated above, why break up a winning formula? Tucker's show is reputed to be the third most popular in all of television. The man will keep getting paid--and gloat all the way to the bank.

(3) So Why Did Dominion Settle? The quick and easy answer is that the hedge fund guys clearly understood that going before a jury is rolling the dice. They could always lose--despite the evidence. But I want to think something more was at work, on a human level. Trump's big lie led to death threats not only against Dominion workers, but also election workers in contested states, and even targeted the Secretaries of State in both Georgia and Arizona. As this case neared trial, those online threats only increased. So are these endangered workers reason enough to rob us of the glee watching Maria Bartiromo go full Cruelly de Ville on the stand?

A corporate crisis expert told ABC News, "If you’re running a company in this situation, you have to keep your people safe. You also have to think about how to ratchet down the level of media combat. Fighting fire with fire doesn't help."

So, Dominion called off the dogs. Let's hope everyone stays safe.

But this still galls me… 


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