April 19, 2023
Media Availability: SIU journalism, legal expert can discuss Fox News defamation lawsuit
CARBONDALE, Ill. — A Southern Illinois University Carbondale media law expert can discuss the implications of the $787.5 million settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems on April 18, shortly after a jury was sworn in to hear the case.
William Freivogel, a professor in the School of Journalism and Advertising, is an award-winning journalist, who earned a law degree in 2001. His interests include media law and public affairs and policy. He has written extensively on libel and reported on it as a journalist. Freivogel can be reached at wfreivogel@gmail.com or 314-322-0396. He is available today, April 19, before 10 a.m. and between 1 and 3:30 p.m. for telephone interviews or via Zoom.
Freivogel will be able to discuss what the defamation case means for Fox News, along with future implications for the media.
“Fox, in its statement, said it accepted ‘the court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects Fox’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards,’” Freivogel said. “So it managed to admit to broadcasting false information in the same breath as saying the admission demonstrates ‘the highest journalistic standards.’
“Fox still faces a lawsuit by the voting technology company Smartmatic, which vowed to ‘expose the rest’ of Fox's misconduct. Also, in St. Louis Circuit Court, two Georgia poll workers are suing the Gateway Pundit, a far-right conspiracy theorist, of falsely accusing them of vote fraud.”