Feds Sue Fox News Over Reporter Catherine Herridge's Charges Of Discrimination, Retaliation

WASHINGTON — Federal authorities are suing the Fox News Network for allegedly retaliating against a reporter after she complained about unequal pay and job conditions based on her gender and age.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says Fox News Channel reporter Catherine Herridge filed an internal complaint about allegedly discriminatory practices in 2007.

Fox found no evidence of bias, but the EEOC says the network later included language in Herridge's employment contract intended to stop her from making any more complaints.

Herridge refused to sign the contract. The network agreed to remove the language after she complained to the EEOC.

The EEOC seeks unspecified monetary damages and a court order enjoining Fox from retaliating against other employees.

Comments

[fairplaystacy]

02:46 AM on 10/05/2010

Let's hope this doesn't go to Kagan and Sotomayor

[journeygirl]

11:01 PM on 10/04/2010

Today Fox is prominently posting Catherine Herridge's reporting on the 9/11 commission cover up....much to the chagrin of many folks commenting on FoxNews.com.

[oftenlucid]

03:56 PM on 10/04/2010

First they came for the loud commercials, but I had a remote and did nothing. Then they came for . . .

[oftenlucid]

04:01 PM on 10/04/2010

Sorry, wrong thread. . .

[StopMakingSense2]

12:55 PM on 10/04/2010

"Fox found no evidence of bias"..... Hysterical! Like their reporting! It's so bad they can't see the forest because of all the trees...

[Eagleman]

11:03 AM on 10/04/2010

If you can't handle the criticism use the Fed muscle to go after them...

Nice going Mr. President

[Vetinari]

12:30 PM on 10/04/2010

Congratulations, you almost made sense with your mudslinging there. Next time you might make it...

[StopMakingSense2]

01:00 PM on 10/04/2010

With any luck you will get treated very unfairly and have no recourse someday. With republicans problems don't exist until it happens to them. Then they cry the loudest. Typical death bed conversion. Co-opting American symbolism Eagleman doesn't make you a patriot but your obviously republican so beyond enlightenment.

[catrst]

01:47 PM on 10/04/2010

Fanned you for "co-opting American symbolism ...doesn't make you a patriot." Isn't that the truth.

[Tom Sutpen]

02:16 PM on 10/04/2010

Since when is being a Patriot something inherently desirable?

[33Greeper]

10:30 AM on 10/04/2010

Aussie facist and Islamic Saudi owned RW propagandist cable channel. You can't trust the accuracy of anything on that channel.

[Tom Sutpen]

02:18 PM on 10/04/2010

So if Rupert Murdoch, and every investor in his media empire were native born American citizens, anything News Corp. does would be acceptable to you?

[Msquad99]

06:09 PM on 10/04/2010

No but the fish stinks from the head down. Fox, in this case is broadcasting in image of their owners and management. It is Roger Ailes that calls the shots there as much as Murdoch does as regards the broadcast news division. But then NBC is owned by GE, ABC by Disney, and CBS by Viacom. All big right leaning corporations. All of them have fallen down on the job over the last couple of decades but Fox, by far, is the most skewed and devoid of true journalistic value.

[nomadsborker]

11:26 PM on 10/03/2010

What a joke, EEOC filed over 93,000 charges in 2009, and this rag picks ONE that was filed against FOX? Yeah, that sure is fair and balanced.

The fear that the left has with Fox is beyond ludicrous.

[americanwhoserved]

05:34 AM on 10/04/2010

nomadsborker: such a crybaby.

[Vetinari]

12:31 PM on 10/04/2010

It is Fox that claims to be fair and balanced, not this site, where you decide to spend your time.

And again: Conservatives fear opponents, liberals laugh at opponents

[ceez]

06:56 PM on 10/03/2010

Fair and balanced.

[lindaj3884]

07:56 PM on 10/03/2010

Not.

[Obrand]

12:41 PM on 10/03/2010

"Fox, Fair & Balanced" is just one of thousands of clever propaganda lines.
This is one SKILLED propaganda group headed by Rupert, but coordinated within the Republican party.
All programs Especially those that have "Liberal" guests are scripted with all the one-liners you will hear in Any counter to Any Democratic value based opinion. All Republicans with speaking skills have All the clever propaganda lines and terms laced in their speeches.
People believe clever propaganda. Remember "If it doesn't fit you must acquit"? Simple minds fall for simple rhymes. Listen for them. "Obama Care", "Government Take-over", etc,. etc., etc.

[Tom Sutpen]

03:07 PM on 10/03/2010

It's not skilled at all, since it presents most of it's highest-viewership programming as Opinion.

Opinion is not effective propaganda, since it can always be dismissed as such. Effective Propaganda comes in the assumptions written into news stories presented on putatively objective newscasts . . . and EVERY news network operates in the same manner in this respect.

[fairplaystacy]

02:55 AM on 10/05/2010

Many Americans who watch Fox News are "news illiterate" and lack the sophistication to discern opinion from fact - so we end up with a bunch of Americans who participate in electing their representatives in government based on what they believe to be fact. Fox knows this and manipulates these weak minded fools.

[goleafsgo]

07:46 PM on 10/04/2010

It is called brainwashing!     Repeat after me......LOL

[janedorothy4]

10:48 AM on 10/03/2010

Fox and CSPAN are the only stations that provide all the news.They have plenty of liberals on Fox because I know I cringe when Ia hear Kristen, Williams and Combs try to make excuses for this disastrous administration on a daily basis.This administration feels that only lowly people would criticize their magnificance and try to silence them with various lawsuits like suing Arizona for pointing out that this bunch refuses to enforce laws.Even they know they are on the wrong track as they are jumping ship like crazy.

[KristinNoelle]

11:37 AM on 10/03/2010

It's lowly to sue a state that passes a law that directly contradicts the basis on which our country was founded? In case you never took history, let me give you a little lesson: Mexicans were on this continent long before white people. If you don't like hispanics, go back to Europe.

[janedorothy4]

11:59 AM on 10/03/2010

Our country was not founded on ignoring people who blatantly break the law by not following our countrys rules. Many many Hispanics entered our country legally and it minimizes their efforts when others just waltz in. And since we let everyone in we dont know if terrorists are coming in since there is no follow up and government just sits back and hopes the terrorist gets unlucky and gets caught after his bomb fails.

[Pablo]

01:27 PM on 10/03/2010

Apparently, you never took history. Mexicans, as we know them, are largely of Spanish descent. And Mexico did not exist until 1810. Prior to that it was New Spain. The Aztecs, the indigenous people of what we now call Mexico were all but wiped out thanks to Hernán Cortés and the smallpox he brought along with him from Europe.

Mexicans ARE white people.

[Vetinari]

12:32 PM on 10/04/2010

120% polls...

splicing footage from different protests...

Yes, without Fox we wouldn't know the truth...

[Kenz300]

10:27 AM on 10/03/2010

Fixed Noise is a 24 hour Republican informercial.

They are a continuous free campaign ad for the Republican party.

[Tom Sutpen]

11:40 AM on 10/03/2010

And water is wet, and the sky is blue.

This is not an insight; it is redundant.

[goleafsgo]

07:53 PM on 10/04/2010

And water is wet, and the sky is blue.

And you are a drip, so what else is new?

[catrst]

02:00 PM on 10/04/2010

In my opinion, it comes with a huge price tag. Now News Corp runs the show and the Republicans must follow their bidding. Seems a lot like accepting money from organized crime.

[Joe Diaz]

08:32 AM on 10/03/2010

Please don’t say Fox News is “Right-wing.” Fox News almost always has on panelists & hosts from the left & right. As an illustrative example, Hannity & Colmes. There’s also Juan Williams & all the other socialists from NPR & the NY Times. Just because AP, CBS, NBC, ABC, etc... are are all slanted to the left, it doesn’t mean a “fair & balanced” lineup is to the right. It just shows how narrow-minded some peoples views are.

[Jdaddy1951]

09:09 AM on 10/03/2010

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ROFLMAO! That's a good one! Oh ... you were serious. Never mind ...

[nutbagger]

09:47 AM on 10/03/2010

Oy vey.

[Dr Jimmy and Mr Jim]

11:18 PM on 10/02/2010

How about deporting Murdoch for treeeee-zon and arresting everybody else over there at Fox. Last one out, turn off the lights.

[Tom Sutpen]

03:09 PM on 10/03/2010

Because there's no basis for a single prosecution along those lines.

[Dr Jimmy and Mr Jim]

08:21 PM on 10/04/2010

It's NOT legal to have a media outlet designed to promote a political party 24/7.

...and eve if it was legal, it's not very ethical.

Republicans cheat at every angle. Voter caging. Using Fox News, rigging elections, It's just not good for America.

These people are responsible for G.W. Bush becoming President - TWICE.

That's reason enough. And if you support an Australian Dinosaur calling the shots for the US of A, then you are beyond hope yourself.

[Dr Jimmy and Mr Jim]

10:40 PM on 10/05/2010

I can't reply to your most recent comment, so I'll reply here:

In the United States, five huge conglomerates control the vast majority of media in the United States: Time Warner, Disney, News Corp, Bertlesmann, and Viacom. This is the direct result of media deregulation that occurred during the Reagan and Clinton administrations, and especially as a result of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

While older media regulations controlled the amount of media outlets that any one company could control, media deregulation lifted most of these restrictions. As a result, while 50 media corporations controlled most of the U.S. media in 1983, that number shrank to 23 corporations in 1990, and now is down to five.

Is corporate ownership of the media a good thing or a bad thing-- or both? Does it hinder democracy, or help it? Is it the best possible media system? Here is a summary of both sides of the argument.

Read more at Suite101: Media Consolidation & Ownership: Pros and Cons of the Corporate Media System http://www.suite101.com/content/media-consolidation-ownership-a52916#ixzz11XggYLPW

[judgian]

07:36 PM on 10/02/2010

http://www.facebook.com/pages/1-Million-Strong-to-Turn-Off-FOX/151969271481675

http://current.com/news/92693678_tell-fox-post-a-disclaimer.htm

http://current.com/entertainment/92684717_1-million-strong-to-turn-off-fox-stop-foxs-lies-from-being-spread-and-legitimized-on-public-tvs.htm

It's happened to all of us. You're in a public place and FOX News is on TV. You sit and simmer, or pack up and move on. You can't bear the idea that the lies, distortions and race-baiting that FOX News uses to divide our country are being promoted as mainstream news.
Americans depend on objective reporting of the news -- especially during election season.
It's time for FOX to own up to its bias.
FOX's election coverage will be watched by millions of voters, and those voters deserve to know that FOX and its parent company are deeply invested in the outcome.
FOX is poisonous — and it spreads and is legitimized partly through public TVs.

[gjkmk]

09:56 PM on 10/02/2010

You're not serious, are you? FOX just appeals to the other half of the country that knows the left runs every other network. It's 4 against 1, and you want to get rid of the one? NBC has more liars than the beach has sand. CNN admits it will report in any way to gain advertisers, and all of the other networks admitted to slanting their coverage of the last presidential election. I sit in a coffee shop and have to put up with Matt Lauer; at the airport I have to listen to Kieth Olbermann spew his tripe. You know what I do when the left is on TV? I listen so I know the opposite is true. Yeah, FOX is a problem - right.

[cuppajava]

10:40 PM on 10/02/2010

Fox is the mouthpiece for the GOP.  You've chosen the most poisonous network on the planet to get your hourly fix of vicious hate, fear-mongering, and lies.  Knock yourself out. 

[CrazyCarl]

01:38 AM on 10/03/2010

So much is wrong with what you just stated it's hard to know where to begin...

"...the left runs every other network." ??? LOL !! Wow... how's the "kool aid" tasting these days?

[ghostrider57]

05:49 PM on 10/02/2010

I'm shocked I tell ya, just shocked. How can our government go after such a fair and balanced network?

Oh ya, that's right, they sued for the right to lie, what a surprise they are now being sued for discrimination.

[Tom Sutpen]

03:05 PM on 10/03/2010

When did they sue for the right to lie?

[cuppajava]

04:58 PM on 10/03/2010

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/7/30/201231/262

August 18, 2000, a unanimous Florida jury found that Akre was wrongfully fired by Fox Television when she refused to broadcast (in the jury's words) “a false, distorted or slanted story”  The jury awarded her $425,000 in damages.

FOX appealed the case, and on February 14, 2003 the Florida Second District Court of Appeals  overturned the settlement awarded to Akre.

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.

During their appeal, FOX asserted that there are no written rules against distorting news in the media. They argued that, under the First Amendment, broadcasters have the right to lie or deliberately distort news reports on public airwaves. Fox attorneys did not dispute Akre’s claim that they pressured her to broadcast a false story, they simply maintained that it was their right to do so.