Fox News, CNN and other major news outlets didn't defame former coal executive Don Blankenship when they referred to him as a “felon” after he served a year in prison on a misdemeanor charge in connection with the worst U.S. mine disaster in decades, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
Fourth Circuit Court Chief Judge Roger Gregory affirmed a district court's determination that 16 outlets sued by Blankenship did not act with “actual malice" amid coverage of his unsuccessful 2018 U.S. Senate campaign, even if they failed to meet journalistic standards.
