Comments on: Fair and Balanced is fair to use

Fair and Balanced is fair to use

billsaysthis — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 16:57:20 -0800

Fox Loses Bid to Stop Sale of Franken Book "There are hard cases and there are easy cases. This is an easy case," said U.S. District Judge Denny Chin. "This case is wholly without merit both factually and legally." As so many of us understood without the need for big expensive lawyers.

By: Slothrup

Slothrup — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 17:09:36 -0800

Fox lawyer: "To me, it's quite ambiguous as to what the message is," she said. "It's a deadly serious cover ... This is much too subtle to be considered a parody." Apparently, Fox believes that satire must be clearly labeled.

By: jaronson

jaronson — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 17:12:26 -0800

Part 1, here, actually. Kirkaracha gets the gold.

By: clavdivs

clavdivs — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 17:23:40 -0800

"Most singular"

By: palancik

palancik — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 17:43:59 -0800

Local B&N didn't have copies yet. The clerk mumbled something about some problem with a lawsuit or something . . . I really miss the days when bookstores had employees who actually read and thought about things.

By: skallas

skallas — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 18:08:05 -0800

Of course the case was meritless, this clearly fell into parody, but being a bully is what the right is all about. Fox knew it was going to lose, but it did something very effective, it sent a message. The message is to its critics: If you're hoping to take us on be prepared to goto court. This could chill dissent and make some smaller publishers without deep pockets want to pass up on books that might angry those running the post-9/11 GOP power grab.

By: entropy

entropy — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 18:15:33 -0800

It's quite amusing how much free publicity Franken got because of this lawsuit. I wonder how many more books he will sell because of it.

By: lasm

lasm — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 19:08:41 -0800

B&N here didn't have it either, so last night I visited my local independent bookstore which had lots of copies prominently displayed. When I went to pay, the person at the checkout counter was even reading a copy. My favorite chapter so far - "I Bitch-Slap Bernie Goldberg".

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 19:38:49 -0800

...Now Caitie, if people say mean things to you, remember... it means nothing unless you believe those things.

By: billsaysthis

billsaysthis — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 21:33:23 -0800

Clavdivs: WTF?

By: piper28

piper28 — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 21:45:35 -0800

By: KirkJobSluder

KirkJobSluder — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 21:54:39 -0800

You know, the thing I've always wondered is why exactly trials like this get resolved quickly, and ordinary criminal trials seem to take absolutely forever to get resolved. Imagine if our whole justice system actually worked this fast. Actually most criminal trials do work pretty quickly. In most cases it is in the best interests of both the prosecution and the defense to cut a quick deal. Only idiots or the extremely confidant actually go to trial because trials cost a heck of lot of money and are a high-risk strategy.

By: phong3d

phong3d — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 23:18:21 -0800

Sorry palancik. I swung my my local bookstore today and they had a pile of them (already disappearing). I'm about 2/3 of the way through.

By: Ayn Marx

Ayn Marx — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 23:26:27 -0800

Now that the book will soon be out, I wonder if it will cover Mr. Franken's own difficulties with the truth? Hello, Pot? Yeah, this is Kettle ...

By: skallas

skallas — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 23:42:53 -0800

>Hello, Pot? Yeah, this is Kettle ... Oh please, there's a world of difference between "Saddam has the bomb!" and "I'm writing a book called Savin' It, tell me about the girls you wouldn't have sex with so I can write a book mocking you." I think its fairly obvious there's a difference between fraud and off-color sarcasism. "Hey you're not from the department of bowel regulatory studies! Officer arrest this man!"

By: lasm

lasm — Fri, 22 Aug 2003 23:43:09 -0800

Now that the book will soon be out, I wonder if it will cover Mr. Franken's own difficulties with the truth? Yes, that letter can be found in chapter 33, "Abstinence Heroes". The other 27 people he sent the letter to are in chapter 34, "Abstinence Heroes II".

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Sat, 23 Aug 2003 03:16:58 -0800

I am so glad you've posted this because I have been waiting for weeks to write: FRANKENFILTER!

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Sat, 23 Aug 2003 06:25:47 -0800

Ann, this is similar to Franken's parody in a previous book where he wrote conservatives to have them "name government programs that worked" to counter a chapter in Rush Limbaugh's book where he sarcastically claimed that not a single government program worked outside of the military. Furthermore, I keep reading this story and people linking to it as if there's some kind of "a ha! Gotcha, Franken!" angle to it, and yet no one seems to wonder how, in the midst of a news story about him that does nothing but raise publicitiy for his book, Franken suddenly decides at the exact same time to release these apology letters. I mean, go ahead if it makes you feel better, but something tells me Franken's tormented soul wasn't what made him write a sarcastic and hilariously mocking letter to the Attorney General.

By: deanc

deanc — Sat, 23 Aug 2003 08:57:54 -0800

One could argue that Fox was obligated by the dilution clause of trademark law to do something. Fox decided to make the best of it by publishing a brief so ridiculous that it would excite all of the Fox News fans into a frenzy. You can just envision clauses from the legal brief being read out loud as Franken is described as "shrill" and a "C-level commentator" with members of the fox news peanut gallery calling out, "ooo... snap! damn, that franken guy got cracked on!" Clearly Franken and Ailes need to face off on Jerry Springer.

By: deanc

deanc — Sat, 23 Aug 2003 09:04:33 -0800

Wait! Wait! I have my new one-liner to summarize the proceedings-- "The only unstable, shrill, C-level commentator using the 'Fair and Balanced' trademark is Roger Ailes." Thank you, thank you. I will be here all week! Tip the waitstaff!

By: LittleMissCranky

LittleMissCranky — Sat, 23 Aug 2003 09:21:47 -0800

Hello, Pot? Yeah, this is Kettle ... You have got to be kidding, right? Can you really not see the difference here?

By: whatever

whatever — Sat, 23 Aug 2003 10:20:36 -0800

Salon has an amusing article on the situation. I know, it's registration required so I'll give you the funny part. "Is it really likely someone is going to be confused as to whether Fox News or Bill O'Reilly is endorsing this book?" asked the judge. "It is likely consumers could believe that," replied Hanswirth. Later she added, "There's no real message that this is a book of humor or political satire. It's a deadly serious cover and it's using the Fox News trademark" to sell itself. In response, the judge pointed out that one of O'Reilly's own books is titled "The O'Reilly Factor: The Good, the Bad, and the Completely Ridiculous in American Life." "Is that not a play on "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly?'" Chin asked, noting that the movie title is also trademarked. "I don't know," replied Hanswirth. "You don't know?" asked the judge. "I don't know," she repeated, before arguing, once again, that Franken is "intending to use the trademark to sell the product." Hanswirth went on to argue that Franken has diluted Fox's trademark by using it "to ridicule Fox's No. 1 talent, Mr. O'Reilly." She then suggested that, because Coulter is on the cover, "somebody looking at this could determine Ms. Coulter has some kind of official relationship with Fox." "The President and Vice President are also on the cover, are they not?" asked Chin. "Are consumers likely to believe they are associated with Fox News?"

By: kgasmart

kgasmart — Sat, 23 Aug 2003 11:49:45 -0800

"The President and Vice President are also on the cover, are they not?" asked Chin. "Are consumers likely to believe they are associated with Fox News?" You mean they're not?

By: clavdivs

clavdivs — Sat, 23 Aug 2003 13:08:13 -0800

"There are hard cases and there are easy cases. This is an easy case," said U.S. District Judge Denny Chin. "This case is wholly without merit both factually and legally." from the article. the picture is very clear. billysaysthis

By: Satapher

Satapher — Sat, 23 Aug 2003 13:24:59 -0800

Go to Borders. They will have it. Barnes and Noble is a stale sponge.

By: Ayn Marx

Ayn Marx — Sat, 23 Aug 2003 17:18:18 -0800

Hello, Pot? Yeah, this is Kettle ... You have got to be kidding, right? Can you really not see the difference here? Of course I do. One party can lie, and when they get caught, cry, "Hey, I was just kidding." Being a political satirist is a great gig. When attempts at serious discourse fall flat, you can resort to low-ball jokes and making faces. And, if you happen to make an astute observation in the course of funnin', why that just shows what a sharp social critic you are. Overall, though, you needn't be really good at either; witness Franken. Preach to the converted and you can't fail. Franken and Fox have more in common that either would like to admit.

By: sreilly

sreilly — Sat, 23 Aug 2003 18:46:28 -0800

Being a political satirist is a great gig. When attempts at serious discourse fall flat, you can resort to low-ball jokes and making faces. You must really be out to lunch if you thought Franken's letter to Ashcroft had any element of serious discourse.

By: KirkJobSluder

KirkJobSluder — Sat, 23 Aug 2003 23:11:41 -0800

For me at least, this falls into what is becoming a more and more disturbing trend of using copyright and trademark law to shut down satire and parody. In the last two years we've seen Mattel sue over photographs of Barbie in a blender, Weird Al back away from videographic parody of Emenem (having Weird Al do one of your songs is most likely the best sign that you have arrived as a pop music icon), and The Wind Done Gone held up in a court strugle with the owners of Gone With the Wind. That is not to say that I find Franken to be all that and a bag of chips. But I recently read a series of articles about the grandfather of both American satire and the American free press, Benjamin Franklin who responded to works of satire against him with a shrug and a grin. Basically the rule here is don't dish it out if you can't take it.

By: skallas

skallas — Sat, 23 Aug 2003 23:47:07 -0800

>Being a political satirist is a great gig. It may be the only gig for lefties who want to criticize the status quo. Look at the serious anger in Anne Coulter's writing, yet when a lefty wants to critcize the status quo he or she must play the comedy card or be put at the end of the stack at the library with Chomsky, Zinn, etc. Lenny Bruce, Michael Moore, Al Franken, Jon Stewart, etc. Why do these guys need to pretend to be comedians to say something political that may upset a few million people? Is this how it is in the US or everywhere in the world? >Franken and Fox have more in common that either would like to admit. Yeah, Fox is just hilarious isn't it? Hell, it scares me. There is little common ground there other than newstainment, except Franken et al have to play the newstainment card or they'll get ripped to shreds by the defenders of all things 'merican.

By: skallas

skallas — Sun, 24 Aug 2003 00:22:56 -0800

I'm not unamerican! I'm a comedian!