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National

Media Trends

Axios Media Trends

Fox News settled with Dominion Voting Systems on Tuesday for over $787 million in what would have been a historic defamation trial in a Delaware court. 

Why it matters: The 11th-hour settlement protects Fox executives from having to possibly testify in court about their role in the network's airing of 2020 election lies.

Details: "The parties have resolved their case," Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said to the jury around 4:00 p.m., ET, more than two hours after opening statements for the trial were slated to begin. 

In a statement following the settlement decision, Fox News acknowledged that the court found that it aired falsehoods which could have implications for other defamation cases it faces.

"We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects FOX’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards," the company said. 

A source has confirmed to Axios that Fox News will not be required to give any apologies or retractions on its air as a part of the settlement deal.

Setting the scene: Fox News executives and its lawyers immediately fled the courthouse after the decision was announced and did not take questions from the press. 

Dominion lawyers and executives held a press briefing for press outside of the reporters, where attorney Justin Nelson announced that Fox News will pay over $787 million to the company.

“Today represents a ringing endorsement for truth and democracy,” Nelson said.

The big picture: The deal represents the largest media defamation settlement in history.  

A $177 million settlement in 2017 between ABC News and Beef Products Inc., a South Dakota meat processing company, was the largest-ever media settlement in the U.S. prior to this agreement.

Be smart: For Fox, a settlement "would mean setting a precedent of paying when sued for defamation, which would be a bad precedent for them," said Shan Wu, a criminal defense attorney,

Fox faces several other defamation lawsuits, most notably a $2.7 billion case brought by election technology company Smartmatic.

A settlement prevents Fox from having to face even more potentially incriminating and embarrassing evidence being made public during a trial.

Catch up quick: Legal experts believed that Fox would have faced an uphill battle in court, given how unusually strong Dominion's case was. 

The judge overseeing the trial had already ruled that Fox News made false statements before the trial even started. 

But convincing a jury that Dominion should recieve damages amounting to $1.6 billion, which is the total amount it sued Fox for, may have been much more difficult. 

Bottom line: "Dominion Voting Systems seems to want its reputation restored as well as large monetary damages, so any settlement would need to satisfy both these concerns in order to reach an agreement," said University of Tennessee journalism professor Stuart Brotman.

Go deeper: Listen to the Axios Today podcast, where host Niala Boodhoo and Sara Fischer discuss what the case means for Fox News and its coverage, as we have entered the 2024 election season.

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Fox News reaches 11th hour settlement with Dominion for over $787 million

Fox faces several other defamation lawsuits — notably Smartmatic's $2.7 billion case.

Fox News' headquarters in New York City. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Dominion- Fox News lawsuit

Media

Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Economy

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

Explosions could still be heard in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Tuesday in the first hour after a temporary cease-fire was due to begin. 

Why it matters: The proposed 24-hour cease-fire was intended to allow Sudanese civilians trapped by the fighting to obtain necessities like food and water. It appeared to have the endorsement of leaders from the Sudanese military and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF). 

The fighting has left an estimated 270 people dead over four days, according to the World Health Organization, citing Sudan's Health Ministry.

Driving the news: Secretary of State Tony Blinken spoke separately to Army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who is known as Hemedti, after a U.S. diplomatic convoy was attacked on Monday. 

Blinken proposed a 24-hour truce to allow "the Sudanese to be safely reunited with families and to obtain desperately needed relief supplies."

While the RSF endorsed that proposal, the army initially released a statement claiming the RSF wanted to use a cease-fire “to cover up the crushing defeat it will receive within hours." Still, local and regional media outlets later reported that the army had accepted the temporary truce,  and a senior general Al Arabiya TV the military would abide by it.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said shortly after the truce was due to begin that "we have not had any confirmation [or] indication that this is holding." A shorter humanitarian truce on Sunday was not fully observed.

The big picture: The UN and other aid groups suspended many of their humanitarian programs after aid workers and their offices came under attack during the fighting. Three World Food Program workers were killed in the fighting in North Darfur. 

"We cannot deliver when our staff is attacked, is thrown out of their offices, when their offices are destroyed, their vehicles looted, and sometimes even their residencies being under fire or destroyed," UN special envoy for Sudan Volker Perthes told reporters on Monday

The World Health Organization, citing Sudan's Ministry of Health, said on Tuesday that at least 270 people had been killed and 2,600 others injured in the fighting. Hospitals have also come under attack and are facing supply shortages, according to the UN and the Central Committee for Sudanese Doctors. 

Catch up quick: The recent fighting erupted on Saturday in the capital Khartoum and in other cities across the country as growing tensions between al-Burhan and Hemedti boiled over.

The pair led a military coup in October 2021, derailing the transition to democracy that began after the ouster of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising four years ago.

But disagreements between two the generals began to rapidly escalate, particularly after the military, RSF and a coalition of civilian parties last December signed a preliminary political deal in which the military agreed to hand over power.

The recent fighting threatens to plunge Sudan into a wider conflict and make the country's shift to civilian rule even more difficult.

Go deeper: Humanitarian situation in Sudan is "now catastrophic," UN says

Humanitarian situation in Sudan is "now catastrophic," UN says

Fighting rocks Sudan despite rival generals agreeing to cease-fire

Blinken proposed the truce to allow people "to be safely reunited with families and to obtain desperately needed relief supplies."

This file picture composite shows Sudanese army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (L) on June 29, 2019 and Sudanese paramilitary commander Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Daglo on June 18, 2019. Photos: Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba/Ashraf Shazly/AFP via Getty Images

Sudan

Conflicts, policies and powers are intersecting and shaping the world. Breaking news and analysis of national security, foreign policy and global crises.

World

Data: Brewers Association; Chart: Axios Visuals

The nation's craft beer market is at an inflection point.

Driving the news: Independent brewery production remained flat at 24.3 million barrels in 2022, according to an annual report released Tuesday from the Brewers Association, the industry's trade group.

The number of new breweries opening decreased for the second consecutive year, while the closings rate increased to 3%.

Why it matters: Outside of the pandemic slump, this is the first time in history the industry didn't see year-over-year production percentage growth, Axios has learned.

The association has tracked production since the mid-1980s and the previous low point was 0.7% growth in 2000, the association's chief economist Bart Watson told us.

What's happening: The latest numbers leave major questions about the industry's future as craft beer's core demographic gets older and drinks less full-flavored beer and younger consumers move toward new beverages, such as seltzers and canned cocktails. 

"Craft is going to have to do what it's always done — reinvent itself for a new generation of drinkers," Watson told us.

Yes, but: A year ago the industry saw an 8% growth pandemic rebound. And this year, craft still fared better than the overall beer market, which saw production volume decline 3% in 2022.

Craft also slid slightly forward with 13.2% of overall market share, up from 13.1% the year before.

And the number of breweries climbed to an all-time high of 9,552.

What they're saying: "This is not a bubble bursting, this is a maturing market," Watson said.

Between the lines: One reason for the lack of growth is the departure of the largest brewers — most recently Bell's in Michigan and previously New Belgium in Colorado — from the independent beer market. Their growth helped the broader craft industry continue climbing in terms of production.

Both companies — and many others, including Goose Island and Lagunitas — were purchased by international mega brewers and are no longer considered "craft" by the association's definition.

The intrigue: Only two craft beer makers landed in the top 50 breweries overall, a list dominated by Anheuser-Busch and Molson Coors.

The five largest craft breweries in terms of production were Yuengling; Boston Beer; Sierra Nevada; Duvel Moortgat, which includes Firestone Walker and Boulevard; and Gambrinus, which owns the Shiner brand.

U.S. craft beer market fell flat in 2022

Beer

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) faces a steep challenge in cobbling together the 218 votes he needs to pass a proposed debt ceiling increase by his new self-imposed deadline.

Why it matters: Top Republicans say they want the bill on the floor by next week, but members across the GOP conference have a range of reservations about a proposal that's still incomplete.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said it's "probably not" enough time to get her on board: "To turn it around in a week, that's pretty short order."

"This is the single biggest point of leverage that will exist in these two years," said another Republican lawmaker.

Driving the news: GOP leadership unveiled their proposal to raise the debt ceiling into 2024 while slashing spending — but a half-dozen House Republicans, more than enough to sink the bill, said they are still not sold.

Coming out of the closed-door GOP conference meeting where the proposal was laid out, Rules Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told reporters, "I think we’ll be moving stuff probably next week."

What they're saying: “I think that they should go further. ... I am in favor of very aggressive cuts," said right-wing Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.). 

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), a former chair of the right-wing Freedom Caucus, said McCarthy's proposal to keep nondiscretionary, nondefense at 2022 levels is a "long ways away" from his demand to bring it down to pre-pandemic levels.

"I’m not at the table. And I get it, McCarthy’s pissed that I ran against him, so I don’t get invited to any of these deals," said Biggs, "But I think it’s unfortunate that he doesn’t want to hear from everybody.”

Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.), a Biden-district moderate who has raised concerns about proposed welfare work requirements, told Axios, "I think we're making progress, but we're still taking a look at it."

Between the lines: Others are simply uncomfortable with the whole enterprise. "I just didn't run for Congress to raise the debt ceiling, so ... it’s not something I’m excited about," said Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.).

"I really want to see some real restraints and fiscal cuts, not just promises," he said.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) has raised similar hesitations about raising the debt limit on principle.

State of play: That puts McCarthy far from where he needs to be in terms of floor vote math — but even his detractors say it's possible they could come together.

"We're not there yet as far as I'm concerned, but I'm firmly in support of the idea we have to get a package passed and do it soon," said Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.). "So I think the next week or so is extremely important."

House Republicans won't commit to McCarthy's debt ceiling plan

"To turn it around in a week, that's pretty short order."

Axios

Tuesday's top stories

Fox News reaches 11th hour settlement with Dominion for over $787 million

Fighting rocks Sudan despite rival generals agreeing to cease-fire

U.S. craft beer market fell flat in 2022

House Republicans won't commit to McCarthy's debt ceiling plan

Trump, other potential 2024 rivals slam DeSantis over Disney feud

Sprawling heat wave envelops large swath of Asia

Scoop: Liz Cheney's book plans

India commands global corporate limelight

How Bud Light became a microcosm of America in 2023

Memorials to racial violence face resistance in U.S.

U.S. convoy attacked in Sudan, Blinken says

What's next for Juul after settlements