The good, the bad and the ugly of the $787M Fox News settlement with Dominion

The long-awaited trial in Dominion Voting Machines’ defamation case against Fox News was scheduled to begin on Tuesday. Both the courtroom and the overflow area were packed. Then the start of the trial was delayed. When the jury did finally enter the courtroom, it was only so that the judge could thank them as he read out a last-minute announcement that the two sides in the lawsuit had reached a settlement. Fox News agreed to pay out a settlement of $787 million, but other than that payment, there does not seem to be any other significant penalty.

For everyone who was looking forward to reading reports of Rupert Murdoch or Tucker Carlson on the stand, the settlement is a major disappointment. That disappointment is only compounded by the fact that although Fox’s attorneys issued a statement admitting, “We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false,” there is absolutely no requirement that Fox ever admit this on air.

Tucker Carlson won’t be apologizing. Laura Ingraham won’t be apologizing. None of them will be forced to read their texts and emails expressing hatred for Donald Trump and disdain for their own audience from the witness stand. Fox viewers are unlikely to ever hear anything about Dominion again except some favorably worded claim that the lawsuit is over. They will, of course, continue to hear Fox News support claims about fraud in the 2020 election.

Dominion v. Fox News is over. But does it change anything?