Tim Geithner: The White House Asked Me to Mislead the Public

[4-2-7]

Originally Posted by donquixote99

Try to imagine how much we care.

So you and your leftist propaganda "Sources" prefer actually doing what you accuses others of.

[donquixote99]

Huh???

[bobabode]

Don't feed the trolls.

[whell]

Originally Posted by MrPots

In February 2003, a Florida Court of Appeals unanimously agreed with an assertion by FOX News that there is no rule against distorting or falsifying the news in the United States.

Back in December of 1996, Jane Akre and her husband, Steve Wilson, were hired by FOX as a part of the Fox “Investigators” team at WTVT in Tampa Bay, Florida. In 1997 the team began work on a story about bovine growth hormone (BGH), a controversial substance manufactured by Monsanto Corporation. The couple produced a four-part series revealing that there were many health risks related to BGH and that Florida supermarket chains did little to avoid selling milk from cows treated with the hormone, despite assuring customers otherwise.


According to Akre and Wilson, the station was initially very excited about the series. But within a week, Fox executives and their attorneys wanted the reporters to use statements from Monsanto representatives that the reporters knew were false and to make other revisions to the story that were in direct conflict with the facts. Fox editors then tried to force Akre and Wilson to continue to produce the distorted story. When they refused and threatened to report Fox's actions to the FCC, they were both fired.(Project Censored #12 1997)

Akre and Wilson sued the Fox station and on August 18, 2000, a Florida jury unanimously decided that Akre was wrongfully fired by Fox Television when she refused to broadcast (in the jury's words) “a false, distorted or slanted story” about the widespread use of BGH in dairy cows. They further maintained that she deserved protection under Florida's whistle blower law. Akre was awarded a $425,000 settlement. Inexplicably, however, the court decided that Steve Wilson, her partner in the case, was ruled not wronged by the same actions taken by FOX.

FOX appealed the case, and on February 14, 2003 the Florida Second District Court of Appeals unanimously overturned the settlement awarded to Akre. The Court held that Akre’s threat to report the station’s actions to the FCC did not deserve protection under Florida’s whistle blower statute, because Florida’s whistle blower law states that an employer must violate an adopted “law, rule, or regulation." In a stunningly narrow interpretation of FCC rules, the Florida Appeals court claimed that the FCC policy against falsification of the news does not rise to the level of a "law, rule, or regulation," it was simply a "policy." Therefore, it is up to the station whether or not it wants to report honestly. (Anybody surprised this happened in Florida?)

Repeating a blogosphere summary of a myth doesn't make the myth true either. Because you've bought the myth, let me see if I can help you a bit here by directing you to the text of the actual appellate court decision.

First, your blogosphere friends may have failed to mention to you that the appellate court decision only dealt with a "whistle-blower" case that Wilson brought against the station regarding her termination of employment. It DID NOT deal with any of the issues relating to Fox's decision to air / not air / modify / whatever the news report about Mansanto because those claims had already been decided and Wilson already LOST on those claims.

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-distri...l/1310807.html

I any case, above is the text of the Feb 2003 decision you cited. I challenge you to find any language that bestows on the station the "right to lie". As stated, the language you posted above specifically determined whether or not Aker had standing to pursue a whistle-blower claim. To that end:

"Because the FCC’s news distortion policy is not a “law, rule, or regulation” under section 448.102, Akre has failed to state a claim under the whistle-blower's statute. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment in her favor and remand for entry of a judgment in favor of WTVT."

Yes, the whistle-blower claim was Akre alleging that the station fired her because she threatened to complain to the FCC "alleging that the station had “illegally” edited the still unfinished BGH report in violation of an FCC policy against federally licensed broadcasters deliberately distorting the news." However, the neither Akre or Wilson filed a claim with the FCC alleging a violation of FCC rules. They have - unsuccessfully - petitioned the FCC to deny WTVT a broadcast license however.

[4-2-7]

More to come later but.......


Whistleblower lawsuit
In 1997, Wilson and Akre began work on a story regarding the agricultural biotechnology company Monsanto and recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), a milk additive that had been approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration but also blamed for a number of health issues. Wilson and Akre planned a four-part investigative report on Monsanto's use of rBGH, which prompted Monsanto to write to Roger Ailes, president of Fox News Channel, in an attempt to have the report reviewed for bias and because of the "enormous damage that can be done" as a result of the report.[2]

WTVT did not run the report, and later argued in court that the report was not "breakthrough journalism." Wilson and Akre then claimed that WTVT's actions constituted the news broadcast telling lies, while WTVT countered that it was looking only for fairness. According to Wilson and Akre, the two rewrote the report over 80 times over the course of 1997, and WTVT decided to exercise "its option to terminate their employment contracts without cause,"[3] and did not renew their contracts in 1998. WTVT later ran a report about Monsanto and rBGH in 1998, and the report included defenses from Monsanto.[2]

Following Wilson and Akre's contract not being renewed, the two filed a lawsuit concerning WTVT's alleged news distortion under Florida's whistleblower laws, claiming their termination was retaliation for "resisting WTVT's attempts to distort or suppress the Monsanto recombinant bovine growth hormone story."[3] In a joint statement, Wilson claimed that he and Akre "were repeatedly ordered to go forward and broadcast demonstrably inaccurate and dishonest versions of the story," and "were given those instructions after some very high-level corporate lobbying by Monsanto (the agriculture company that makes the hormone) and also ... by members of Florida’s dairy and grocery industries."[4] The trial commenced in summer 2000 with a jury dismissing all of the claims brought to trial by Wilson, but siding with one aspect of Akre's complaint, awarding Akre $425,000 and agreeing that Akre was a whistleblower because she believed there were violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and because she planned on reporting WTVT to the Federal Communications Commission.

An appeal was filed, and a ruling in February 2003 came down in favor of WTVT, who successfully argued that the FCC policy against falsification was not a "law, rule, or regulation", and so the whistle-blower law did not qualify as the required "law, rule, or regulation" under section 448.102 of the Florida Statutes.[5] ... Because the FCC's news distortion policy is not a "law, rule, or regulation" under section 448.102 of the Florida Statutes,[5] Akre has failed to state a claim under the whistle-blower's statute."[3] The appeal did not address any falsification claims, noting that "as a threshold matter ... Akre failed to state a claim under the whistle-blower's statute," but noted that the lower court ruled against all of Wilson's charges and all of Akre's claims with the exception of the whistleblower claim that was overturned.[3]

This is the lefts Propaganda at work

The 2003 documentary, The Corporation, featured Wilson and Akre discussing their battle with WTVT, with Wilson claiming that the jury "determined that the story they pressured us to broadcast, the story we resisted telling, was in fact false, distorted, or slanted."[2][6] Project Censored called their story one of the "Most Censored Stories" of 2003,[2] claiming that the "Court Ruled That the Media Can Legally Lie."[7] Robert F. Kennedy Jr. later quoted Wilson in his book, Crimes Against Nature, with Wilson asking "[W]hat reporter is going to challenge a network ... if the station can retaliate by suing the reporter to oblivion the way the courts are letting them do to us?"[8] Wilson and Kennedy both failed to note that Wilson and Akre originally brought the suit.[2] Following the story, Akre and Wilson won the Goldman Environmental Prize for the report,[1] as well as an Ethics in Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists.[9] The two continued to challenge WTVT's license, the last such challenge coming in 2005.[2]

The two lost that final challenge with the FCC in July 2007 calling the conflict an "editorial dispute ... rather than a deliberate effort by [WTVT] to distort news."[10]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Akre>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>
So Wilson and Akre filed a case and lost to a local Fox station.

Then took it to an appeals court and lost again.

Then the lefts propaganda convinces idiots that Fox lies. Because Fox used the legal statutes that protect all media source under rule of the FCC. Because the FCC's news distortion policy is not a "law, rule, or regulation" under section 448.102 of the Florida Statutes.

[Ike Bana]

Originally Posted by 4-2-7

No link? I would also need the pdf of actual court documents for this post MrPots.

Originally Posted by Ike Bana

Go fuck yourself. We're at a half dozen times I've requested resources or production of proof of a lying-ass claim you've made about alleged comments of mine. Youre in no position to demand jack shit from anybody ya sniveling little weasel.

Got it?

[whell]

Originally Posted by Ike Bana

Go fuck yourself.

One can always trust Ike for most intellectual contributions to any discussion.

[Ike Bana]

Originally Posted by whell

One can always trust Ike for most intellectual contributions to any discussion.

He's a duplicitous asshole. Persistently demanding links and some sort of fucking "proof" when he refuses to provide any of either himself.

He gets exactly the level of intellectual contribution he deserves. As do his idiotic defenders. Particularly you.

[Ike Bana]

Originally Posted by 4-2-7

More to come later but.......


Whistleblower lawsuit
In 1997, Wilson and Akre began work on a story regarding the agricultural biotechnology company Monsanto and recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), a milk additive that had been approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration but also blamed for a number of health issues. Wilson and Akre planned a four-part investigative report on Monsanto's use of rBGH, which prompted Monsanto to write to Roger Ailes, president of Fox News Channel, in an attempt to have the report reviewed for bias and because of the "enormous damage that can be done" as a result of the report.[2]

WTVT did not run the report, and later argued in court that the report was not "breakthrough journalism." Wilson and Akre then claimed that WTVT's actions constituted the news broadcast telling lies, while WTVT countered that it was looking only for fairness. According to Wilson and Akre, the two rewrote the report over 80 times over the course of 1997, and WTVT decided to exercise "its option to terminate their employment contracts without cause,"[3] and did not renew their contracts in 1998. WTVT later ran a report about Monsanto and rBGH in 1998, and the report included defenses from Monsanto.[2]

Following Wilson and Akre's contract not being renewed, the two filed a lawsuit concerning WTVT's alleged news distortion under Florida's whistleblower laws, claiming their termination was retaliation for "resisting WTVT's attempts to distort or suppress the Monsanto recombinant bovine growth hormone story."[3] In a joint statement, Wilson claimed that he and Akre "were repeatedly ordered to go forward and broadcast demonstrably inaccurate and dishonest versions of the story," and "were given those instructions after some very high-level corporate lobbying by Monsanto (the agriculture company that makes the hormone) and also ... by members of Florida’s dairy and grocery industries."[4] The trial commenced in summer 2000 with a jury dismissing all of the claims brought to trial by Wilson, but siding with one aspect of Akre's complaint, awarding Akre $425,000 and agreeing that Akre was a whistleblower because she believed there were violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and because she planned on reporting WTVT to the Federal Communications Commission.

An appeal was filed, and a ruling in February 2003 came down in favor of WTVT, who successfully argued that the FCC policy against falsification was not a "law, rule, or regulation", and so the whistle-blower law did not qualify as the required "law, rule, or regulation" under section 448.102 of the Florida Statutes.[5] ... Because the FCC's news distortion policy is not a "law, rule, or regulation" under section 448.102 of the Florida Statutes,[5] Akre has failed to state a claim under the whistle-blower's statute."[3] The appeal did not address any falsification claims, noting that "as a threshold matter ... Akre failed to state a claim under the whistle-blower's statute," but noted that the lower court ruled against all of Wilson's charges and all of Akre's claims with the exception of the whistleblower claim that was overturned.[3]

This is the lefts Propaganda at work

The 2003 documentary, The Corporation, featured Wilson and Akre discussing their battle with WTVT, with Wilson claiming that the jury "determined that the story they pressured us to broadcast, the story we resisted telling, was in fact false, distorted, or slanted."[2][6] Project Censored called their story one of the "Most Censored Stories" of 2003,[2] claiming that the "Court Ruled That the Media Can Legally Lie."[7] Robert F. Kennedy Jr. later quoted Wilson in his book, Crimes Against Nature, with Wilson asking "[W]hat reporter is going to challenge a network ... if the station can retaliate by suing the reporter to oblivion the way the courts are letting them do to us?"[8] Wilson and Kennedy both failed to note that Wilson and Akre originally brought the suit.[2] Following the story, Akre and Wilson won the Goldman Environmental Prize for the report,[1] as well as an Ethics in Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists.[9] The two continued to challenge WTVT's license, the last such challenge coming in 2005.[2]

The two lost that final challenge with the FCC in July 2007 calling the conflict an "editorial dispute ... rather than a deliberate effort by [WTVT] to distort news."[10]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Akre>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>
So Wilson and Akre filed a case and lost to a local Fox station.

Then took it to an appeals court and lost again.

Then the lefts propaganda convinces idiots that Fox lies. Because Fox used the legal statutes that protect all media source under rule of the FCC. Because the FCC's news distortion policy is not a "law, rule, or regulation" under section 448.102 of the Florida Statutes.

Repeating a blogosphere summary of a myth doesn't make the myth true either. - whell

In light of that....

[whell]

Originally Posted by Ike Bana

He's an asshole. Persistently demanding links and some sort of fucking "proof" when he refuses to provide any of either himself.

He gets exactly the level of intellectual contribution he deserves. As do his idiotic defenders. Particularly you.

I'm not defending anyone. My comments were about YOUR contributions to the discussion. It appears your behavior has descended to, or beyond, the type of conduct you are complain about.