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☆ Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham panicked and texted that Fox News 'hates us' after calling Arizona for Biden and bragged about their 'enormous power' at the network
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

New emails and texts released in Dominion Voting System's case against Fox News highlighted internal strife. The three prime-time hosts, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, and Sean Hannity, felt sidelined after the Arizona call. "We are officially working for an organization that hates us," Ingraham texted the two hosts in November 2020. On Tuesday, a new series of internal emails, private texts, and depositions helped illuminate the internal rifts between Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, and their coworkers after the network called Arizona for Biden. "We are officially working for an organization that hates us," Ingraham texted Hannity and Carlson on November 16, 2020, according to court documents.

☆ Inner Workings of Fox News on Display in Defamation Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Joe Flint | Keach Hagey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Fox News Chief Executive Suzanne Scott and Rupert Murdoch, the chair of Fox News parent Fox Corp.On Jan. 5, 2021, the day before the U.S. Capitol riot, Fox News Chief Executive Suzanne Scott got an email from Rupert Murdoch saying it might be time for the network’s prime-time hosts to declare Joe Biden had won the presidency. Though the stakes were especially high, getting an editorial suggestion from the top brass was hardly unusual, according to court filings from a defamation suit against Fox News that reveal internal communications at the network.

☆ Rupert Murdoch suggested Fox News hosts 'went too far' with election fraud claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Murdoch said in an email to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott on Jan. 21, 2021, in an apparent reference to Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham. Dominion has argued in its suit that Fox and its ring-wing cable TV channels and talent falsely claimed that its voting machines rigged the results of the 2020 election. The company points to Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch's testimony about being "kept awake at night" regarding ratings and competition following the 2020 election. Trump has repeatedly spread false claims that the 2020 election between him and now-President Joe Biden was rigged. Before then, Dominion and Fox will meet again in Delaware court on March 21 regarding their motions for summary judgement.

☆ Rupert Murdoch could face FEC fines if he tipped off Jared Kushner about Biden's presidential ads before they aired
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Madison Hall | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Dominion claims Rupert Murdoch shared info about Biden ads with Trump's campaign in 2020. "During Trump's campaign, Rupert provided Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, with Fox confidential information about Biden's ads, along with debate strategy (providing Kushner a preview of Biden's ads before they were public)," Dominion's lawyers alleged in the filing. "If the allegations are true, this is precisely what Murdoch provided to the Trump campaign," he said. After Trump lost, Murdoch shifted attention to two runoff elections in Georgia for US Senate seats. "My friend Jared Kushner called me saying, 'This is terrible,' Murdoch wrote.

☆ Fox News election fraud revelations could take down the network’s embattled chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —Who will Rupert Murdoch exile from the Fox kingdom? The stunning levels of misconduct exposed in recent weeks raise questions about the future of Suzanne Scott, the embattled chief executive of Fox News. “They’re leading a trail of crumbs that lead back to her office,” added David Folkenflik, the NPR media correspondent and Murdoch biographer. In each case, Murdoch made the decision to sever ties with top personnel. “They should be reprimanded, maybe got rid of.”As Folkenflik noted, “If you’re Rupert, you can’t fire Rupert.

☆ Fair and Balanced? Murdoch’s private messages show Fox News was instructed to help Republicans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But a deposition and private messages made public in recent weeks has exposed that even Rupert Murdoch doesn’t treat Fox News like an actual news organization. But at Fox News, that’s not the case. It’s just striking to hear Fox leadership like Ryan talk openly behind the scenes about what the company is at its core. Fox News has accused Dominion of having “cherry picked” statements to unfairly malign the network. But it’s hard to see how, under any circumstances, these instructions to a supposed network news chief would be appropriate.

☆ Fox executives should be fired for ‘proven misconduct’ exposed in Dominion lawsuit, renowned Yale professor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —The Fox Corporation board has a huge mess on its hands — and it needs to work quickly to clean it up. That’s according to Jeffrey A Sonnenfeld, the renowned professor and senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management. The former House speaker said that Fox News should “move on from Donald Trump” and “stop spouting election lies.”But Sonnenfeld said Ryan’s actions were not enough. In fact, he said Ryan’s “quiet dissent” was “cowardly, ineffective, and immoral,” and pointed out that board members have certain responsibilities under corporate governance law in Delaware, where Fox is incorporated. Fox News has previously said it was “proud” of its 2020 election coverage, which is a statement that only grows more remarkable by the day.

☆ Schumer, Jeffries pressure Murdoch, Fox News over Trump's false election fraud claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Trump has repeatedly spread false claims that the election was stolen from him. Earlier this week, Dominion filed court papers that revealed parts of the testimony from Murdoch and other top Fox Corp leadership. In his deposition, Murdoch acknowledged that some of Fox's top TV hosts endorsed false election fraud claims. When Murdoch was asked if he was "now aware that Fox endorsed at times this false notion of a stolen election," Murdoch responded, "Not Fox, no. Fox News has consistently denied that it knowingly made false claims about the election.

☆ Rupert Murdoch admits Fox News hosts 'endorsed' election lies and wanted to make Trump a 'non-person' after January 6 riot
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Rupert Murdoch conceded in a deposition that Fox News hosts pushed falsehoods about the 2020 election. Fox Corporation, which Murdoch leads, argues it isn't liable in Dominion's lawsuit anyway. At the same time, Murdoch denied that Fox Corporation itself endorsed these false claims. Dominion sued Fox News Network along with its parent company, Fox Corporation, in March 2021, also including Bartiromo, Pirro, and Dobbs as defendants. According to the filing, Rupert Murdoch said in his deposition he took care to strike a tone that wouldn't antagonize Trump.

☆ A tally of the times Rupert Murdoch, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham privately trashed Rudy Giuliani in the wake of the 2020 election even as Fox News continued to have him on their shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Dominion's lawsuit revealed comments Fox News hosts and execs made about Rudy Giuliani in 2020. Dominion is suing Fox for defamation related to unfounded election fraud claims about the company. Rupert MurdochRupert Murdoch, the founder and chairman of Fox News, made several claims disparaging Giuliani and doubting the veracity of his claims. Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesSean HannityOn November 11, 2020, Fox News host Sean Hannity said, "Rudy is acting like an insane person," according to the court documents. Laura IngrahamOn January 12, 2021, Fox News Host Laura Ingraham said, "Rudy is such an idiot," the documents said.

☆ The 10 biggest revelations from Dominion’s explosive Fox News legal filing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Murdoch rejected that Fox News, as an entity, endorsed former President Donald Trump’s election lies. They endorsed,” Murdoch said, according to the filing, when asked about the hosts’ promotion of false claims about the election. ► Behind the scenes, Paul Ryan repeatedly warned the Murdochs to stop allowing the spread of election lies. “Maybe best to let Bill go right away,” which would “be a big message with Trump people” the filing said. These documents reveal that Fox News executives and hosts knew the truth and yet they peddled election lies to the audience.

☆ Rupert Murdoch said Fox News continued airing Mike Lindell's ads even after his voter fraud rants because of how much 'green' Lindell provided for the network: court filing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Hannah Getahun | Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Dominion Voting Systems' new court filing details how important Mike Lindell was to Fox News. Murdoch went on to admit in his deposition that he could have pulled Lindell's MyPillow advertisements — but did not. "Ever since Smartmatic sued Fox News, no one in this country can go on any conservative stations and talk about the election," Lindell told Insider. A Dominion Voting Systems spokesperson told Insider: "Dominion is a strong believer in the First Amendment and its protections. In February, Lindell told late-night host Jimmy Kimmel that he has spent more than $40 million pushing Trump's baseless claims of voter fraud.

☆ Rupert Murdoch says some Fox News anchors 'endorsed' false election fraud claims in Dominion case
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch said some anchors of the company's TV networks parroted false fraud claims in the months following the 2020 election, according to new court papers out Monday. In new filings as part of Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox and its networks, Murdoch said he doubted the election fraud claims being aired on Fox News and Fox Business Network. Murdoch also acknowledged that Fox's TV hosts endorsed the false election fraud claims. In unveiled question and answers from Murdoch's deposition, when Murdoch was asked if he was "now aware that Fox endorsed at times this false notion of a stolen election," Murdoch responded, "Not Fox, no. Dominion sued Fox and its right-wing cable networks, Fox News and Fox Business, arguing the networks and its personalities made false claims that its voting machines rigged the results of the 2020 election.

☆ Rupert Murdoch suggested Fox News hosts Carlson, Hannity and Ingraham go on air and say Joe Biden had won 2020 election, court filing says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rupert Murdoch suggested three Fox News hosts could go on air and declare Biden the winner in 2020. The lengthy filing makes revelations about the inner workings of the Fox News network following the 2020 election. Murdoch privately described the election fraud claims as "damaging" and "crazy," according to the filing. However, the relationship fractured over the years, and in 2020 Fox News was the first network to call Arizona in favor of Biden, infuriating Trump. Fox News has previously denied the charges and said that it reported fairly on the election and its aftermath.

The documents were publicly released for the first time this week as part of Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox Corp and its cable TV networks. Dominion, Fox Corp and Fox News filed their motions for summary judgment this week, which unveiled evidence from months of discovery and depositions that had been private until this point. Fox News anchors, as well as top Fox Corp brass including Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch, were questioned in recent months. In court papers Thursday, Fox Corp said it had "no role in the creation and publication of the challenged statements – all of which aired on either Fox Business Network or Fox News Channel." But he's not going to destroy us," court papers show.

☆ Fox News hosts and executives privately mocked pro-Trump election conspiracy theories after he lost, internal texts show
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

It enrages me," Tucker Carlson wrote in a text message to his producer Alex Pfeiffer. "Not a single Fox witness testified that they believe any of the allegations about Dominion are true," Dominion lawyers wrote. Imho they need to address but wtf do I know," Hannity wrote in a text message, referring to Newsmax. That email, Dominion's lawyers write, came from an unnamed author who claimed to be a beheaded ghost who talks to the wind. President Trump not only was the sitting President, he was the key figure that day," Dominion's lawyers wrote.

☆ Analysis: Fox News has been exposed as a dishonest organization terrified of its own audience
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Trump was enraged that Fox News was the first network to call the critical swing state of Arizona for now-president Joe Biden. In the days and weeks after the presidential contest had been called, Fox News’ audience listened to Trump and rebelled against the channel. Behind the scenes, Fox News executives and hosts were in panic. Did I mention Cavuto?”The fear that Fox News’ audience would abandon it for good also appeared to drive programming decisions. When Lindell appeared on Newsmax and criticized Fox News, executives at Fox News “exchanged worried emails about alienating him,” the legal filing said.

☆ Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity discussed wanting a Fox News reporter fired after she pushed back on Trump's election lies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity discussed trying to have a Fox reporter fired for a fact-checking tweet. The Fox News commentators took issue with the reporter's rejection of Trump's 2020 election lies. A new court filing in Dominion Voting Systems' lawsuit again Fox includes troves of text messages. Carlson and Hannity apparently did not take kindly to her public rejection of Trump's messaging. Hannity responded saying he had already sent Heinrich's tweet to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott with a "really?"

“From the top down, Fox knew ‘the dominion stuff’ was ‘total bs,’” Dominion wrote in its filing for summary judgment in its favor. Dominion must prove that the network either knew the statements it aired were false or recklessly disregarded their accuracy. Dominion said in its brief that Murdoch internally described the election claims as “really crazy” and “damaging,” but declined to wield his editorial power to stop them. In its summary judgment filing, Fox argued that Trump’s claims about the election were “undeniably newsworthy” and that viewers understood they were merely being reported as allegations. Fox also argued that Dominion’s suit advances overbroad interpretations of defamation law, takes quotes from its coverage out of context and ignores its reporting of Dominion’s rebuttals to the false claims.

A former Fox News employee sued the network Wednesday, alleging that the late Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes sexually abused her for years. Ailes allegedly made it clear that if she tried to speak out or stop the abuse, Luhn would experience “severe personal humiliation and career ruin,” according to the suit. Luhn says in the suit that in 2011 she sent a letter to Fox’s general counsel detailing Ailes’ abuse. The suit says the network withheld over 30% of the payment for taxes. The sexual abuse that she suffered while working at Fox News was some of the worst imaginable,” said Luhn’s attorney, Barbara Whiten Balliette, a partner at Reid Collins & Tsai LLP.

REUTERS/Mike BlakeDec 13 (Reuters) - Fox Corp (FOXA.O) Chairman Rupert Murdoch is set to be questioned under oath on Tuesday in a defamation lawsuit over his network’s coverage of unfounded vote-rigging claims during the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The deposition comes as special committees of the boards of directors for News Corp (NWSA.O) and Murdoch-controlled Fox Corp consider a proposal from Murdoch to re-combine, nearly a decade after the companies split. Murdoch will be questioned via videoconference on Tuesday and Wednesday by lawyers for Dominion, according to a filing in Delaware Superior Court. On Dec. 5, Murdoch’s eldest son and executive chair and CEO of Fox Corp (FOXA.O), Lachlan, sat for a deposition in Los Angeles. Murdoch’s other son, James Murdoch, was questioned in October.

☆ Lachlan Murdoch biographer breaks down his relationship with father Rupert Murdoch and why a merger of Fox and News Corp is about 'entrenching Lachlan's control'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

A new unauthorized biography of Lachlan Murdoch explores his business profile and family relationships. Its author, Paddy Manning, speculates about who might exit if Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corp and News Corp recombine. Rupert Murdoch remains executive chairman of News Corp and chairman of Fox. Lachlan Murdoch was named Fox's CEO, and James Murdoch, after four years as CEO of 21st Century Fox, was left to carve his own path. If you're looking longer-term about who's going to run the company beyond the merger, if it happens, [News Corp CEO] Robert Thomson is probably retiring.

☆ Lachlan Murdoch biographer breaks down his relationship with dad Rupert and why his siblings want to change 'destructive' Fox News
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

A new unauthorized biography of Lachlan Murdoch explores his business profile and family relationships. Its author, Paddy Manning, speculates about who might exit if Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corp and News Corp recombine. Lachlan Murdoch was named Fox's CEO, and James Murdoch, after four years as CEO of 21st Century Fox, was left to carve his own path. Why did you want to write a book about Lachlan Murdoch? Did you talk to Lachlan Murdoch?

☆ Fox News CEO had strong doubts about Trump's election-fraud claims, NYT report says. The network pushed them anyway.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Fox News' CEO privately doubted Donald Trump's election fraud claims, The NYT reported. The network pushed Trump's baseless claims the 2020 was stolen from him through fraud. Scott's claims about the election are likely to figure prominently in Dominion's case, with the company arguing that the network broadcast the fraud claims despite knowing them to be false. Afterwards, Fox News hosts and Trump allies pushed election-fraud claims on the network, often unchallenged. In a statement to The Times, Fox News defended Scott's record at the network and said that the discussion of the election fraud claims on the network was protected under the First Amendment.

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