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, reports The Wall Street Journal.
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.
Documents from the suit—in which voting-machine company Dominion Voting Systems alleges Fox knowingly spread false claims that its technology rigged the 2020 election—offer a glimpse into how Fox News is run, including how Ms. Scott deals with the Murdochs, the elder Mr. Murdoch’s involvement in editorial matters and the influence of top network hosts.
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| Suzanne Scott |
Mr. Murdoch would email suggestions on hosts, narratives and guests, according to a filing. In the context of the 2020 election coverage, that meant advising on how to cover fraud claims and how to treat Donald Trump, the filing said.
“I’m a journalist at heart. I like to be involved in these things,” Rupert Murdoch testified in a deposition, according to a court filing.
This week, a judge is expected to release another batch of documents that could reveal more about the inner workings of Fox and how it handled the election-fraud claims. Fox has argued in its briefs that it was reporting newsworthy allegations and that the suit is an attack on the First Amendment. Fox says Dominion cherry-picked snippets of evidence out of context.
The case is expected to go to trial April 17.
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