Is it a win for Fox News? Or maybe Dominion? Now that Fox has agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million for airing false claims about rigged machines, observers are assessing the settlement that avoids a high-profile trial. Some early takes:
- Win for Murdoch: At Slate, Jack Shafer makes the case that congratulations are in order for Rupert Murdoch. Yes, it's a lot of money, but it's "just the cost of doing business Murdoch-style." He runs a "contaminated" media empire that regularly makes multi-million dollar settlements. In this case, not only does Fox avoid an ugly trial, it apparently won't have to apologize or even admit wrongdoing. "Don't kid yourself" into thinking the large sum will change things. "If you had a machine that tossed off the sort of money Fox does, you wouldn’t tamper with it."