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 August 24, 2000 |
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Fox TV Forced to Pay Jane Akre $425,000 After Monsanto rBGH Scandal
Her husband and partner in the case, fellow journalist Steve Wilson, was not awarded damages because the jury did not find that his unwillingness to alter what he and Akre uncovered about rBGH was the sole reason for his dismissal from Fox station WTVT. Mr. Wilson, who represented himself in the courtroom, was portrayed as a "difficult" employee during his tenure at the station for his refusal to lie during a broadcast, leading the jury to determine that there may have been other factors that lead to his being fired. In their 4-part report that was scheduled to begin airing on February 24, 1997, Akre and Wilson would have revealed the risks of BGH, including links to breast cancer, as well as other negative health risks to humans and animals. Fox News gutted the original script through pressure from Monsanto, and required more than 80 revisions from the veteran, award-winning journalists. Testimony during the trial showed how the biotech giant Monsanto warned Fox of "dire consequences" if the station were to broadcast the critical report. When Akre and Wilson refused to slant their report to the satisfaction of Monsanto and Fox, they were dismissed from the station. Despite Akre's obvious victory in the courtroom Friday, the vice president of Fox's news division, Phil Metlin, told the St. Petersburg Times, "The jury realized that Fox never told anyone to lie, distort or slant the news." Further, he crowed, "This is a wonderful day." It is strange that despite Fox's "victory", they have vowed to appeal the verdict. "Were these guys at the same trial I was at?" Akre asked, incredulously. Chief defense attorney William McDaniels said that the defendents would have a statement later in the evening, but, according to Wilson and Akre's BGH Bulletin, never provided it. It is the first time the state whisleblower law has successfully been used to protect a journalist who is fired for failing to distort the news. Despite not being awarded damages, Wilson feels that Akre's victory also vindicates him. "Jane and I were a team. We were working on the same story. The jury has now decided that what Jane threatened to disclose to the Federal Communications Commission was a false, distorted and slanted news story. That is a stain that no amount of spin from $650-an-hour Washington lawyers who specialize in telling you what the definition of 'is' is can ever take away. No appeal can ever remove it, either..." "The problem was the jury had no option to find out that the slanted news report was a compelling reason, or a substantial reason, or even just one of the reasons [Wilson was fired]. With those instructions, it had to be the reason. And once I admitted to being difficult in the face of my bosses telling me to lie on the air, I think the jurors decided my intransigence certainly could have also been another reason they wanted to get rid of me." After the verdict, Akre's lawyer John Chamblee told reporters, "This is for you. This is for everyone in the state who calls himself or herself a journalist and for any of them who may ever end up in a terrible situation like this." In this day of tabloid and sensationalistic journalism exemplified by people like John Stossel, Vegan Street would like to commend the tenacity, conviction, and integrity of Jane Akre and Steve Wilson in their battle against a massive media empire. Please take a moment to check out their excellent website (www.foxbghnews.com) and learn more about the case and rBGH. If you have a chance, please send them a message of congratulations. Additionally, if you are able to make a contribution to help ease their financial burden from having not worked since 1997, the contact information can be found at this website. |
