Fox News' Howard Kurtz Admits Dominion Case Has Been 'Embarrassing'

In a summary of the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit on Sunday, Fox News anchor Howard Kurtz ultimately admitted the case was embarrassing for the right-wing network after defending Fox News coverage of the trial and accusing other news outlets of siding against it.

The overwhelming majority of media outlets were strongly against Fox, and therefore were aiding Dominion, he said on Sundays MediaBuzz.

As evidence, he cited reports in media outlets such as Politico, the New York Times and the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal that said the outcome was a disappointment. (Many media commentators and onlookers have expressed dismay over the $787.5 million settlement after Fox News was not forced to apologize for amplifying lies about the 2020 election and only vaguely admitted it had broadcast falsehoods).

Kurtz, the networks media expert, also made a point of noting that he had covered the lawsuit. In February, Kurtz had told viewers the network had barred him from reporting on it, but that rule appeared to change in the lead-up to last weeks scheduled trial.

I raced out to report, first with Neil Cavuto, then Special Report, that what some Fox shows aired, or allowed others to say from former President Trump to his lawyers were bogus conspiracy theories, he said. Kurtz was in Delaware last week to cover the case.

1/ As expected, @HowardKurtz reports on the Dominion defamation settlement WITHOUT reporting the exact $787.5M dollar transaction, adding \"the hundreds of millions of dollars are far SHORT of the $1.6 billion sought by Dominion\"

#Mediabuzz https://t.co/rAbgM2tZQM pic.twitter.com/7YbXjVTuhi

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1/ As expected, @HowardKurtz reports on the Dominion defamation settlement WITHOUT reporting the exact $787.5M dollar transaction, adding "the hundreds of millions of dollars are far SHORT of the $1.6 billion sought by Dominion"

#Mediabuzz https://t.co/rAbgM2tZQM pic.twitter.com/7YbXjVTuhi
Bad Fox Graphics (@BadFoxGraphics) April 23, 2023

He called reporting that accused Fox News of ignoring the trial on air just false, arguing that Ive been covering it for weeks.

A Washington Post analysis of the networks coverage of the trial found only a handful of Fox programs discussed the lawsuits blockbuster conclusion at all.

Kurtz also summarized the part of Fox News statement that read: We acknowledge the Courts rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. According to Kurtz, this statement recognized that the network had broadcast falsehoods.

I said Fox had acknowledged in its statement Judge Eric Davis findings that some on-air comments about Dominion were false, he said. And that Dominion CEO, with more pejorative terms, told reporters that Fox had lied.

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Now this is important because Donald Trump insisted and continues to say without proof almost two and a half years later that the election was rigged against him, he added.

He admitted that its been embarrassing seeing the gap between what certain Fox News hosts were saying publicly and privately about the 2020 election. Private correspondence unearthed during the lawsuit revealed top Fox News talent and executives were skeptical of the claims they were allowing Trump allies to spread on air.

And though Kurtz said the network had taken a hit in the court of public opinion, he wondered: Whats been the impact of this difficult chapter on Fox News? It was last week, once again, the highest-rated network on basic cable.