Frivolous Lawsuits Undercut Press Freedom
INTERVIEW ON THE PRICE OF BUSINESS SHOW, MEDIA PARTNER OF THIS SITE.
Recently Kevin Price, Host of the nationally syndicated Price of Business Show, interviewed David Dozier who is a leading media authority.
They discussed the chilling effect of frivolous lawsuits against news organizations. Two prominent U.S. politicians have launched frivolous lawsuits against news organizations. Such lawsuits lack any basis in law or fact. GOP President Donald Trump successfully squeezed a $16 million from Paramount, owner of CBS News and “60 Minutes.” Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom has filed a similar frivolous lawsuit against Fox News. He seeks $787 million in damages. Trump was miffed with how “60 Minutes” edited an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 Presidential campaign. The courts should have and would have tossed out Trump’s lawsuit as frivolous. The Newsom-Fox dispute involves the timing and content of a June phone call between Trump and Newsom as Trump deployed federal troops in Los Angeles. Fox News said that Newsom lied. Newsom says that Trump lied. Newsom’s claim closely matches the dollars Fox News paid Dominion Voting Systems. Fox news admitted that it knowingly lied when Fox said Dominion voting machines switched votes from Trump to Biden. In both cases, grandstanding politicians use frivolous lawsuits for self-promotion and to harass news organizations they dislike. Trump’s lawsuit is especially egregious. Paramount caved in to Trump’s lawsuit. Trump’s Federal Communication Commission could block a proposed multi-billion dollar sale of Paramount to Skydance. Paramount threw “60 Minutes” under the bus to maximize shareholder profits. CBS News and Fox News are large organizations. Both have the financial and legal wherewithal to fight frivolous lawsuits. All they need is the courage to do so. Politicians of all stripes can use this same unscrupulous tactic against smaller regional and local news organizations that lack the same fighting resources. This will exert a chilling effect on the coverage of political news. Journalists will self-censor, rather than risk lawsuits that lack any legal or factual justifications (see www.DavidDozierBooks.com and www.linkedin.com/in/david-dozier-576b684/).
The Price of Business is one of the longest running shows of its kind in the country and is in markets coast to coast. The Host, Kevin Price, is a multi-award winning author, broadcast journalist, and syndicated columnist. He is Editor at Large for this site. Learn more about the show and its digital partners at www.PriceofBusiness.com.
David Dozier (DavidDozierBooks.com) is the author of the novel, The California Killing Field. He is a professor emeritus in the School of Journalism & Media Studies, San Diego State University. He’s an internationally recognized expert on communication management and public relations.
According to USA Business Radio, “David Dozier is a scholar of public relations and communication management, professor emeritus in the School of Journalism & Media Studies at San Diego State University, and author of The California Killing Field. He says fake news has become a phenomenon, political campaigns use the tactic to influence voters, and that it’s perplexing that a conspiracy-based group such as QAnon has gained national attention.
Kevin Price and David Dozier are doing a multi-part series on this important topic that will be on many different platforms, as well as on radio. Keep an eye out for the series throughout the Price of Business Digital Network and USA Business Radio.
Connect with David Dozier on social media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-dozier-576b684/
Check out more national news stories here.
Explore more insights at https://thedailyblaze.com/.
About Author
