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Report
Archive:
April 9, 2002:
Akre Appeal and
Documents
April 9, 2002:
Wilson Appeal
and Documents
November 2,
2000:
JURY VERDICT
STANDS
October 12, 2000:
JUDGE RELUCTANT TO
SET ASIDE JURY VERDICT
Fox gets 15 days to
submit
new brief
September 7 2000:
BOTH SIDES APPEAL
JURY VERDICT
Trial judge will hear
arguments October
12
August 26, 2000:
VERDICT DOESN'T STOP FOX
FROM CONTINUING TO DISTORT THE NEWS
News, Analysis and
Commentary about how Fox twists news of verdict and
reports
"total vindication"
August
18, 2000:
VICTORY IN
COURT!
Full coverage of the jury's
decision in the
Fox/BGH suit
August
5, 2000:
Guest
Editorial
July 27, 2000:
Trial Coverage: Days
8-9
Startling Admission from Fox
V-P Who Fired
Wilson/Akre
July 26,
2000:
Trial
Coverage: Day 7
V-P News Lays Claim To
Insanity
Defense
July 24, 2000:
Trial Coverage: Day
6
Second week of trial begins
July 21, 2000:
Trial Coverage: Day
5
Week one ends with a bang;
Fox seeks mistrial,
Judge
says no
July 20, 2000:
Trial Coverage: Days
3 and 4
July 18, 2000:
Trial Coverage: Day
2
July 17, 2000:
Trial Coverage: Day
1
July 14, 2000:
Justice For Sale In
Tampa?
Finally at the
courthouse,
litigants can't afford to use
the courtroom
facilities
July 12, 2000:
Fox Loses Key
Motion; Jury
Is Seated
Plaintiffs do not have
to
prove Fox guilty of violating Communications Act
July
8, 2000:
Potential Landmine
Could
Derail Entire Case
June 30, 2000:
Judge Steinberg
Ready To
Get Case Back On Track
June 26, 2000:
Another Judge Says
'No' to Hearing Wilson/Akre v Fox Case
June 21,
2000:
Still No
Judge To Hear Fox/BGH Case While Foxes Dishes More Distortion To
WTVT Tampa Viewers
June 16,
2000:
Trial
Date Pushed Back Again; New Judge To Be Selected
June
8, 2000:
Fox Manager
Who Fired Akre and Wilson In Tampa Gets Big
Promotion
David Boylan Flies Into The Sunset to Manage
KTTV, Los Angeles
June 6, 2000:
Fox Trial Will Start
Sooner Than Expected
It will proceed in the heat of the
summer, probably in July
May 25, 2000:
Fox Trial Will Not
Start June 12 as Scheduled
May 18, 2000:
Fox Still Stalls on
Testimony of Its president Mitchell Stern
Pre-trial hearing
is otherwise uneventful
May 8,
2000:
Ralph
Nader Testifies About Broadcasters' Public Interest
Requirement
Presidential candidate gives testimony at
pre-trial depo
May 5, 2000:
Court-ordered
Mediation Is Brief and Unsuccessful
Trial set to begin June
12
April 28,2000:
Fox
Challenges rBGH Experts At Depositions
Fox lawyers laying
ground-
work to tell jurors experts are cancer
scaremongers?
April 26,2000:
Walter
Cronkite Testifies on Behalf of Akre & Wilson
Fox lawyers
lodge objections
October 19:
Fox
Lawyers Insist On Secrecy At Deposition
French TV
Ejected
October 18:
FDA Wants Comments on G-M Foods
Public
Meetings Start in November
October 13:
Judge
Rules: Trial Will Proceed: Defense loses third effort to have
case dismissed
September 24:
MSNBC:
Gene-modified foods might get labels: Industry weighs
voluntary steps, U.S. studies options as well
September
20:
Trial Still Set to Start Soon: Busy Docket Delays
foxBGHsuit
August 4:
MSNBC:
Mutable Feast: Will the fight over gene-altered food
products leapfrog across the Atlantic?
June 30:
Consumers International: UN Health Group
Shuns BGH
June 1:
New York
Times: Farmers Right To Sue Grows - Food Warning Muzzle
Likely
May 10:
Corporate
Crime Reporter: Monsanto Officials Join Leading Consumer,
Environmental Groups
May 3:
Fox
Deceives Viewers in Primetime, Too Net Admits Staging
after INSIDE EDITION Report
April 30:
Democracy Group Award to Akre/Wilson Fired
Reporters Cited for "Courage in Journalism"
April 29:
New
Trial Date is October 11 Fox Piles On Big-Name
Lawyers
April 17:
Clinton
Lawyer Joins Fox Legal Team David Kendall Involvement
Confirmed in Letter to Monsanto
April 16:
Fox
Pleads for Another Delay Later Trial Date to be Set April
29th
April 1:
Judge
Says BGH Case Will Go To Trial Opening Gavel Falls May
10th
February 16:
PENTHOUSE Exposes BGH, Fox Coverup:
First-rate story of BGH situation and lawsuit against Fox TV
(rated G -- no nudity, just the story)
January 25:
ENS Summary of BGH Developments
January
14:
How Fox Wanted to Slant News of Canadian
Concerns Canadian BGH Concerns Were Big Issue In Firing
of Fox Reporters
January 14:
Canada Says NO to BGH!
Read
the CBC Story or 
January 14:
Health Canada Rejects Bovine Growth Hormone in
Canada Government News Release
December
16:
Akre & Wilson Win Courage Award For Work
On Story Which Cost Them Their Jobs
December 15:
ABC
NEWS Catches Up on BGH Read the ABC Story or
November 7:
FOX Legal (8/28)
Answers to Reporters' Complaint Now
Available
November 1:
Monsanto and
Fox: Partners in Censorship PR Watch - Showcase
Article
October 30:
Canadians Probe Coverup Claim
Read
CBC Story or
October 24:
Reporters
Get Top SPJ Ethics Award
October 22:
BGH Issue
Explodes in Canada: Read
CBC Story or
October 7:
SECRET
Canadian Study Leaked... ...BGH safety questions
unanswered?
Sept 13:
Akre-Wilson Depos Start
Sept
10:
TIMES/St. Petersburg SP Times covers NutraSweet flap
Sept
10:
Our Story: Fox Still Protecting Monsanto?
Sept 8:
Fox Pulls Plug on NutraSweet Foe
Sept
1:
Reporters Respond To Defense
READ story FOX-TV refused to air... or
July 14:
Judge
refuses to dismiss all but one count of reporters'
suit
July 5:
OBSERVER/London Digger Still
Plays Dirty
July 1:
Depositions Continue, Trial Date Set
June
7:
TIMES/St. Petersburg Akre/Wilson
Preparing FCC Complaint
May 26:
Judge
rejects Defense motion for Protective Order
May
25:
WEEKLY PLANET/Tampa: Grazing A
Stink - - -Don't Have a Cow
May 23:
NEW YORK
TIMES: (Silenced) Reporters... Post Web Site
May
21:
Wilson/Akre demand on-air correction
April
29:
FOX-TV asks court: Dismiss
case and Delay depositions
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ORAL ARGUMENTS SET IN FOX
WHISTLEBLOWER CASE
By JANE AKRE
| TAMPA (April 9,
2002)
After a delay of one month, lawyers representing Tampa
television station WTVT, owned and operated by Rupert
Murdochs Fox Television, have agreed to a date for oral
arguments in the stations appeal of a $425,000 whistleblower
award to a former reporter.
Both
sides will convene before Floridas Second District Court of
Appeal in Tampa, May 15th. The hearing has
tentatively been assigned to the three-judge panel of justices
Oliver Green, Darryl Casanueva and Patricia
Kelly.
The
same panel will hear the appeal of plaintiff Steve Wilson at
the same time.
Wilson, who received nothing from the jury, contends
that he failed to receive an identical ruling as his
co-plaintiff because the trial court judge gave the jury a
faulty instruction.
For
each appeal, the panel basically has three choices: uphold the jury
verdict, reverse the verdict, or remand back to trial court
for a new trial.
Fox
Television, is appealing the verdict rendered in favor of
fired reporter and anchorwoman Jane Akre on August 18,
2000. After a
five-week trial, the jury found the television station fired
Akre as a retaliation for threatening to alert authorities
about a story that was, as the jury affirmed, a false,
distorted or slanted news report which she reasonably believed
would violate the prohibition against intentional
falsification or distortion of the news on television, if it
were aired.
The
case represents the first time reporters have filed a
whistleblower lawsuit against a broadcast
company.
The
story in question concerned a controversial, genetically
engineered synthetic bovine growth hormone, made by Monsanto
and used regularly by Florida dairy farmers. Before its
scheduled airdate, Monsanto sent letters threatening
litigation if the story aired. After an eight month
series of more than 80 re-writes, both reporters were fired in
December of 1997and their story was never aired by the
station.
At
the heart of the Fox appeal is a claim that the station has
First amendment protections that extend even to the broadcast
of news material known to be false or misleading. Fox contends the
entire dispute is nothing more than a difference of editorial
opinion.
Originally
the court had asked for an April 16th hearing, but lawyers representing
Fox, Williams & Connolly of Washington D.C. told the court
they had a scheduling conflict.
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