Why is Fox News Allowed To Spread Falsehoods? Seriously, where is the FCC?

[onenote]

61. My guess is that Fox v Monsanto is not the case you are thinking about

I suggest you google "Fox v Monsanto" and see what case comes up. Its a case by someone named Susan Fox against Monsanto and has nothing to do with Fox News.

What I imagine you are thinking about is the "whistleblower" case brought by Jane Akre and her husband against WTVT, the Fox-owned broadcast station in Tampa, FL. The suit, which was brought in state court, alleged that the station's decision not to renew her and husband's contract with the station when it expired was retaliation for resisting the station's efforts to "distort or suppress" a story they were working on about Monsanto's use of recombinant bovine growth hormone and refusing to broadcast what they alleged were inaccurate and dishonest versions of the story. The jury ruled against them on all claims except for Akre's claim under Florida's whistleblower law. On appeal, the state appellate court reversed, finding that the state whistleblower law applied where the claim related to an alleged violation of "law, rule, or regulation." Akre's claim related to an alleged violation of the FCC's "news falsification" policy and the state appellate court held that the news falsification policy, which is not codified in statute or the FCC's rules, did not constitute a "law, rule or regulation" under the Florida statute. Akre subsequently unsuccessfully sought to have the FCC revoke WTVT's license, with the Commission finding that conflict between the station and Akre was an "editorial dispute ... rather than a deliberate effort by [WTVT] to distort news." This unsurprising result is consistent with the FCC's longstanding policy of not second-guessing editorial decisions in deference to the first amendment.

So that's the case I think you were referencing. Didn't involve Fox News. Turned on a question of state law. Didn't come to any conclusions as to the truth or falsity of the reports that WTVT sought to "suppress".