Here’s how the Society of Professional Journalists describes itself: “SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to informing citizens; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and fights to protect First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press.”
So you would think that the SPJ would stand up for a news organization being sued for defamation. But, the SPJ is now commenting on Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News and has some harsh words … about Fox News.
In a statement, the SPJ wrote, “Text messages, emails and other recently disclosed court evidence in the case appear to show that popular prime-time Fox News hosts, with support from network executives, gave their viewers false and misleading information, apparently out of concern that fact-based reporting would damage the company’s brand, allowing competitors to siphon away viewers. News organizations have a fundamental obligation to be honest in the reporting and opinion they disseminate. It is unprofessional, unethical and potentially harmful for a journalist or news organization to deliberately mislead their audience, no matter the motivation or format.”
It went on to write, “If a news organization knowingly spreads lies, either in news reporting or opinion, it has clearly breached this most sacred of principles. No responsible journalist can accept or excuse this behavior.”
SPJ did say they “support journalists at Fox who have refused to take part in narratives of falsehoods.”
Speaking of Fox News …
More old emails in the Dominion-Fox case became public Wednesday, including one from Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott that seemed to indicate that fact-checking Donald Trump was “bad for business.” (Although, Fox News says that is not what the email was about.)
On Dec. 2, 2020, Scott emailed Meade Cooper, executive vice president of primetime programming. In an email with a subject line that referred to correspondent Eric Shawn, who often pushed back on Trump’s false claims of a rigged election, Scott wrote, “This is bad business and there clearly is a lack of understanding what is happening in these shows. The audience is furious and we are just feeding them material. Bad for business.”
In a statement, Fox News said Scott was not referring to Shawn pushing back on Trump. The statement said, “This is not about fact checking — the issue at hand is one host calling out another.”
For more on the newly released emails, here’s NBC News’ Amanda Terkel, Jane C. Timm and Dareh Gregorian with “Fox News aired Dominion voting myths despite its ‘Brain Room’ saying they were wrong.”
In a statement, Fox News said, “These documents once again demonstrate Dominion’s continued reliance on cherry-picked quotes without context to generate headlines in order to distract from the facts of this case. The foundational right to a free press is at stake and we will continue to fiercely advocate for the First Amendment in protecting the role of news organizations to cover the news.”
And, oh, one more today about Fox News. The Washington Post’s Paul Farhi and Sarah Ellison with “Rupert Murdoch settles a lot of lawsuits. Why not Dominion v. Fox News?”
Stayin’ alive
The Texas Observer isn’t going away after all.
Just this week, the board of the parent company for the progressive publication told staff they were being laid off and the outlet was being shut down. Current and former staff, as well as devoted readers, were crushed by the idea of the 68-year-old publication going away. But after the staff raised nearly $300,000 since Monday through donations and a GoFundMe, the board voted unanimously to rescind the plan to shut down the Observer and lay off its 16-person staff.
Editor-in-chief Gabriel Arana told the Observer, “This is wonderful news. The Observer is indispensable to Texas and to democracy.” Gayle Reaves, the Observer’s editor-at-large, added, “I just got chills. I can’t tell you how proud I am of our incredible supporters and my colleagues and the board members who helped us.”
In a statement, The Texas Democracy Foundation Board apologized for “the abruptness of the layoff vote and deeply regret that they found out via another media outlet and the uncertainty and stress of this week. We look forward to working with them as we build a sustainable path for the magazine.”
The statement also apologized to the Observer’s major donors, as well as supporters and readers. It ended by saying, “Texas needs progressive investigative journalism more than ever, and we hope the Observer can be reimagined for the next generation.”
In a statement to The New York Times’ Michael Levenson, board president Laura Hernandez Holmes said, “My intent in voting for layoffs and hiatus was never about closing down the publication. The actions I took as board president were intended to allow space for The Observer to be reconstituted, and reimagined in a more sustainable form.”
Whatever the intent, it’s moot now as the Observer will continue on, which is great news for journalism in Texas.
Powerful piece
A Poynter Report reader named Sten Eric Carlson reached out to me Wednesday to share a “My Turn” op-ed that he had written for Newsweek.
What a powerful piece. I won’t go into details. I’ll just link to it and suggest you give it a read. Here it is: “My Brother's Horrific Murder Shocked Police. His Killer Is Up for Parole.”
The Boston Globe’s new initiative
For this item, I turned it over to Poynter’s Amaris Castillo.
The Boston Globe this week introduced a new journalism initiative called Boston Globe New Hampshire that aims to tell stories that matter most to New Hampshire residents and readers who are invested in what happens in the Granite State.
“We learned a lot from our 2019 expansion into Rhode Island, and have seen first-hand the importance of having local reporters write about topics that matter to the communities in which they themselves live,” Lylah M. Alphonse, the editor of Boston Globe New Hampshire and Boston Globe Rhode Island, wrote in the announcement. “We’re following that same model in New Hampshire, with Steven Porter and Amanda Gokee anchoring our Granite State team.”
Alphonse added that while Rhode Island was new territory for the Globe, New Hampshire is familiar ground. She listed past reporting and analysis focused on the state, including the Globe’s 2021 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for Blind Spot, which began with an incident in New Hampshire. In addition to Porter and Gokee’s reporting, there will also be a weekday newsletter called Globe NH | Morning Report. You can find news from the Boston Globe’s New Hampshire bureau here or on Twitter @Globe_NH.
Media tidbits
