Judge Dismisses Newsmax Suit Against Fox News
Conservative news outlet Newsmax who had filed an antitrust lawsuit against Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corporation, alleging that the media giant has engaged in an “unlawful monopolization” of the right-leaning television news market was rebuffed by a Florida federal judge just one day after it was filed.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in south Florida, accuses Fox of using its dominant position to suppress competition and limit consumer choice. Newsmax claims that Fox has employed a series of “exclusionary business practices” and “intimidation tactics” to harm its rival.
Judge Aileen Cannon called Newsmax’s suit an impermissible “shotgun complaint,” but left the door open for the company to file an amended civil complaint.
Good luck with that.
Newsmax, which has had some success from time to time in competing with Fox News, now finds itself searching for growth, and they have decided to do so by suing the 800 pound gorilla of conservative news, hoping for a favorable outcome. But Newsmax has limitations as they use second-rate talent and Fox refugees who either were fired or left under a cloud, as well as lower production values than Fox. Cable operators don’t have to be bullied by Fox to not carry Newsmax, as they can clearly see which network will bring in more viewers and advertising dollars in an era of shrinking cable TV audiences and continued cord-cutting.
Streaming is in, and that’s where Newsmax should build its audience, rather than waste time and money in suing a company with virtually unlimited resources.
This is not the first major legal battle for either network. Both have recently settled defamation lawsuits with voting technology companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic over false claims aired following the 2020 election.
Don Irvine
Donald Irvine is the chairman of of Accuracy in Academia (AIA), a non-profit research group reporting on bias in education. Irvine follows his father’s legacy, Reed Irvine, to critically analyze the liberal media’s bias and brings over thirty years of media analysis experience. He has published countless blog posts and articles on media bias, in context of current events, and he has been interviewed by many news media outlets during his professional career. He currently hosts a livestream weekly show on AIA’s Facebook page which discusses current events.
Irvine graduated from the University of Maryland and rose up the ranks to become chairman of Accuracy in Media until his transition to AIA.
He resides in the suburbs around the nation’s capital and is a proud father and grandfather.
