Fox and Dominion settle — silly to serious reactions from Colbert, CNN, and MSNBC

The Fox News-Dominion lawsuit ended with a settlement yesterday. I found that slightly disappointing, despite the huge sum Fox News agreed to pay Dominion. I'm not alone. Listen to the studio audience when Stephen Colbert told them the news in Fox Settles Suit, Begins Damage Control | DeSantis Attacks Disney Again | George Santos Needs Cash.*

After settling with Dominion for $787.5 million, Fox News will not have to acknowledge its election lies on the air. Elsewhere, Florida’s governor won’t stop attacking his state’s biggest employer, and New York congressman George Santos launched fundraising efforts for his re-election campaign.

They groaned. Both Stephen and his audience wanted a trial and they didn't get it. They wanted Fox to be humiliated publicly and to be entertained while watching it and now they're not going to get it. They're not alone. Watch and listen to CNN's panel this morning in CNN anchor worked at Fox for 16 years. Hear why she thinks Fox got out of Dominion lawsuit easy.

CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota, who previously worked at Fox News for 16 years, weighs in on the settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems, explaining why she thinks Fox received the "best outcome" it could have hoped for.

This is probably the best outcome both companies could have achieved — Dominion gets the money while Fox doesn't have to publicly retract its statements on air — but not a good result for truth or democracy. Unfortunately, neither truth nor democracy are parties to the suit.

The panelists on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" had even more to say about the settlement in Danny Cevallos: The Dominion, Fox case was always going to settle.

Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems reached a $787.5 million settlement agreement Tuesday afternoon, the parties announced, narrowly heading off a trial shortly after the jury was sworn in. The Morning Joe panel discusses.

I've been in a defamation suit before and found that Cevallos is right the hard way; defamation claims are almost impossible to prove, trials are best avoided, and many potential defendants are essentially judgment-proof. So while I'm a bit disappointed that the case settled, I'm not surprised. Also, this is only the first legal action to reach a resolution; there are more to come, so Fox will likely pay out a lot more money, even if it never ends up making a retraction on air.

I conclude with Joe on the Dominion, Fox lawsuit: This is an American tragedy.

Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems reached a $787.5 million settlement agreement Tuesday afternoon. The Morning Joe panel discusses the outcome.

Like the CNN panel, Scarborough connected the suit to both the Big Lie and to January 6th. Fox News' lies not only harmed democracy and the truth, they led the participants in the failed coup attempt to harm themselves. It's almost enough to make me feel sorry for them.

I have a brief retrospective planned for 4/20 on Throwback Thursday tomorrow. Stay tuned.

*I need to follow up on DeSantis's reaction to Disney subverting DeSantis's replacement for the Reedy Creek Improvement District, Disney World's own government; he's making himself look even worse while getting liberals to side with a big corporation. Nice trick, but not the one he's trying to pull. Finally, my prediction that, as long as George Santos remains in the news, he will be an inspiration for comedy continues to come true.