Why did ABC News settle a lawsuit with Donald Trump?

In March, ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos interviewed Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace and asked why she continued to support Donald Trump for president after, Stephanopoulos said, Trump had been found “liable for rape” in a 2023 civil case.

Stephanopoulos was referring to the case where a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s. The jury did not find him guilty of rape. However, the judge in the case later clarified that because of New York’s narrow legal definition of “rape,” the jury did not mean that Carroll “failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape.’”

Nevertheless, Trump sued ABC News and Stephanopoulos for defamation over what Stephanopoulos said in the interview with Mace.

Then, over the weekend, ABC News announced it would settle the case with Trump. Under the terms of the settlement, ABC News will donate $15 million to Trump’s future presidential foundation and museum. In addition, the network will pay $1 million for Trump’s legal fees. Also, on the original story on its website, ABC News has added an editor’s note that says, “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024.”

The New York Times’ Michael M. Grynbaum and Alan Feuer wrote, “The outcome is an unusual win for Mr. Trump, who has frequently sued news organizations for defamation and frequently lost, including in litigation against CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post.”

They added, “Several experts in media law said they believed that ABC News could have continued to fight, given the high threshold required by the courts for a public figure like Mr. Trump to prove defamation. A plaintiff must not only show that a news outlet published false information, but that it did so knowing that the information was false or with substantial doubts about its accuracy.”

Mother Jones’ Julianne McShane wrote, “The details of the settlement are concerning for anyone who cares about press freedom in the next Trump administration. And, in particular, it shows again how New York state’s definition of ‘rape’ — that has since been changed — has allowed Trump to wiggle out of criticism for sexual assault allegations.”

So why settle?

RonNell Andersen Jones, a professor of law at the University of Utah, made an interesting comment to the Times, saying, “What we might be seeing here is an attitudinal shift. Compared to the mainstream American press of a decade ago, today’s press is far less financially robust, far more politically threatened, and exponentially less confident that a given jury will value press freedom, rather than embrace a vilification of it.”

In a statement, ABC News said, “We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing.”

Another thing to consider. Politico’s Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing wrote, “Trump’s suit against ABC and Stephanopoulos is just one in a series of cases the president-elect has filed against media organizations and his political opponents. During his bid for president, Trump used the stack of cases to boost his campaign’s visibility and advance a narrative that his perceived enemies unfairly target him. Now that he’s successfully clinched a return to the White House, any open cases could pose a problem as Trump could be called to provide sworn testimony and hand over related documents.”

But many see it as ABC News (and Disney) caving to Trump.

Media reporter Oliver Darcy wrote in his Status newsletter, “The capitulation by ABC News is sure to embolden Trump and his allies, who have vowed to launch an unprecedented assault on the free press.” He added, “While ABC News will get most of the heat for this, Bob Iger and the Disney executives over in Burbank are ultimately responsible. Like other business leaders, it’s evident they don’t want to be involved in a dispute with the president-elect.”

Interestingly, the Times’ Grynbaum and Feuer noted in their story, “Debra OConnell, the Disney executive who directly oversees ABC News, dined with Mr. Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles, in Palm Beach last Monday, according to two people briefed on their interaction. The dinner was part of a visit by several ABC News executives to Florida to meet with Mr. Trump’s transition team. News networks typically arrange such meetings ahead of a new presidential administration to discuss subjects like booking and day-to-day coverage. Another person familiar with the meeting said its purpose was to discuss Mr. Trump’s White House transition, not the pending defamation case.”

Fixing local TV journalism

The latest episode of “The Poynter Report Podcast” is out today, and it’s one that should interest all of you.

During this season of the podcast, we have spent a lot of time talking about national media and political issues — in particular, the 2024 election and the upcoming presidency of Donald Trump.

But in this episode, we delve into something that impacts all of us: local news, specifically local television news.

My guest is Elliott Wiser, who has spent nearly four decades in the media business as a reporter, anchor, news director, general manager and corporate vice president. He also is a contributing author of two books about television news and is currently a journalism professor at the University of South Florida.

If you’re like me — born in the 1960s — you grew up and spent much of your early adult life watching local TV news: 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.

These days? I consume more media, I think, than most people because of my job. I like to think I’m well-informed and care about local issues. But do I watch local TV news? Admittedly, other than when there is an impending weather event, such as a potential hurricane, I don’t watch nearly as much local TV as I used to.

I’m not alone. And local TV news stations often revamp their newscasts in an attempt to attract more viewers  — both older ones who used to watch as much anymore, and younger ones who have never really watched.

Wiser suggests plenty of radical ideas, including killing the 5 and 6 p.m. news as we currently know it, and presenting news outside of traditional TV. We also talk about where the future talent of local TV news will come from.

It’s a conversation that I think you will find interesting.

Subscribe to “The Poynter Report Podcast” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon Music (and don’t forget to leave us a rating and review).

Soon-Shiong speaks about the future of the LA Times

It has been a rough year at the Los Angeles Times. Well-respected editor Kevin Merida left at the start of the year, followed by more high-profile editors. There were layoffs shortly after.

Then came controversy. The paper’s owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, killed a planned editorial that would have endorsed Kamala Harris for president. That decision led to the editorials editor quitting in protest. Then Soon-Shiong made it clear that he questions the editorial bias at his paper.

In the wake of the more recent drama, the Los Angeles Times’ James Rainey wrote a lengthy piece, which included an extensive interview with Soon-Shiong. While presented as a news story, it reads a lot like a platform for Soon-Shiong to defend the decisions he has made that have angered staff, as well as a good chunk of the Times’ readership. Nevertheless, there was plenty to unpack, including these items:

• Rainey wrote the Times lost approximately 20,000 subscribers after Soon-Shiong killed the Harris endorsement. Rainey added, “The Times has about 650,000 paid readers, combining print, digital and other third-party platforms. About 275,000 of those are direct digital subscribers.”
• About killing the endorsement that led to the canceled subscriptions, Soon-Shiong bragged, “I knew this would be disruptive, and it took courage to do that.” He said the decision to not endorse Harris was not “so that I could support President Trump, so I could appease him, because I was scared of him, which was the furthest from the truth.”
• Soon-Shiong says the Times will have, essentially, two editorial boards. One will be made up of full-time writers who will concentrate on local and state issues. Rainey wrote, “A second group of writers, now being assembled by Soon-Shiong, will focus on national and international affairs. Those opinion columnists are expected to be freelancers. Soon-Shiong has suggested that besides writing signed pieces for The Times, the columnists — representing an array of professions, industries and personal backgrounds — might be featured in videos produced by L.A. Times Studios or at conferences sponsored by the newspaper.”
• As far as editorials, Rainey wrote, “While details remain to be worked out, Soon-Shiong said he would ‘have a direct and more active role,’ adding that he would leave certain topics to his opinion writers, while having more to say about ‘issues that are dear to my heart, (such as) cancer, climate change, energy issues and issues of national importance.’”
• Soon-Shiong recently talked about adding an artificial intelligence-generated “bias meter” to stories to indicate to readers a particular article’s ideological bent. However, Soon-Shiong clarified to Rainey that the meter will only appear on editorials and opinion columns, not news stories. Rainey wrote, “He said he intends to have the AI technology also parse 50 years of Times editorials and columns, to determine the ideological bent of every Times editorial and opinion piece published over five decades. He says he will publish the results of that analysis.”
• Despite well-deserved criticism of a “bias meter,” Soon-Shiong said it’s to show readers the Times is offering a variety of opinions, saying, “It’s exhausting to turn on Fox and turn on CNN and turn on MSNBC. We need to be that middle-of-the-road, trustworthy source. … I think that’s our goal. The only way you can survive is not be an echo chamber of one side.”
• Soon-Shiong said that accounts earlier this year that Merida resigned in protest over impending staff cuts are not true. Soon-Shiong said he fired Merida, adding, “My great disappointment … was for him to go around and provide misinformation … that he resigned under protest.” (Merida told Rainey in an email, “I have said all I want to say about my decision to leave the L.A. Times 11 months ago. I’ve moved on. But I continue to root for The Times and for all of the tremendous journalists who are still there.”)

There’s a ton more in the Times story, so check it out.

Media tidbits

• The Wall Street Journal’s Isabella Simonetti with “MSNBC and CNN Fight to Dig Out of a Postelection Ratings Hole.”
• And another from The Wall Street Journal’s Isabella Simonetti: “From Fox News to NBC, Legacy Media Wants In on TikTok.”
• The New York Times’ Stuart A. Thompson with “I Traded My News Apps for Rumble, the Right-Wing YouTube. Here’s What I Saw.”
• TheWrap’s Josh Dickey reports that Charles Lane, the deputy opinions editor at The Washington Post, is leaving the paper to join Bari Weiss’ Free Press. Lane has been with the Post for 25 years. While Lane has an extensive and impressive career in journalism, he also is known for being the editor of The New Republic when staff writer Stephen Glass was discovered in the late 1990s to be fabricating stories. Lane fired Glass. Lane was played by Peter Sarsgaard in the excellent 2003 film, “Shattered Glass.” Again, this is just one moment in Lane’s superb journalism career.
• The Washington Post’s Cat Zakrzewski with “Elon Musk just can’t leave Donald Trump’s side.” Zakrzewski writes, “The two men’s relationship has annoyed some other Trump advisers and raised ethical concerns that Musk could abuse his power in the incoming administration to further enrich himself and benefit his many businesses, which include Tesla, SpaceX, X and Neuralink. This week, Musk became the first person to attain a net worth of $400 billion, as valuations of his companies have skyrocketed since Trump’s election, according to Bloomberg.”
• Awful Announcing’s Arthur Weinstein with “‘Sunday NFL Countdown’ pays tribute to Randy Moss following cancer diagnosis.”
• Bill Simmons’ The Ringer website has undergone a redesign. Takes a second to get used to if you’re a regular visitor, but, ultimately, it’s good.

Hot type

• “CBS News Sunday Morning” and correspondent Luke Burbank profile singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers.
• Another from “CBS News Sunday Morning:” senior correspondent Ted Koppel with “How theater can break the cycle of incarceration.”
• The Athletic’s Larry Holder and Craig Custance with “How CT scanners are being used on trading cards: The ethical and legal issues it presents.”

More resources for journalists

• Peak Producing: Elevate Your Newsroom, Accelerate Your Career
• Are you an up-and-coming newsroom manager?
• Lead With Influence is for leaders who manage big responsibilities but have no direct reports.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].