Interesting story. Personally, I like Al Franken.... Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot was a funny book, and I'm looking forward to this one.
But what was O'Reilly/Fox thinking with this lawsuit? Franken's book went from pretty unknown to #1 on amazon pre-orders due to their lawsuit. Are they secretly friends with Franken and just trying to do him a favor? The book is comedy, so Fox had to know that their lawsuit doesn't have a chance in hell of sticking just on parody grounds.
http://www.drudgereport.com/bof.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/12/ny...partner=GOOGLE
http://1.junglescan.com/scan/details...5947647&days=7
Lots of underlying personal vendettas going on here. O'Reilly apparently doesn't like Franken due to some stuff he has said in the past. Drudge appears to have a grudge against O'Reilly too because he has said nasty things in the past about O'Reilly's radio show, maybe because it competes with Drudge's.
Anyway, quite a soap opera going on. Looks like Franken will end up laughing all the way to the bank.
Quote:
O'REILLY LOBBIED FOR LAWSUIT
**Exclusive**
FOX NEWS star Bill O'Reilly lobbied his network to file suit against author Al Franken and his upcoming book "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right," top sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.
"For Bill, above all other things, this was a matter of honor and support," a top source explained from New York.
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In his book, Franken directly challenges O'Reilly on his journalistic record and aggressively accuses cable's top-rated host of exaggeration, padding of his resume and other claims.
"He is not going to sit by and let Franken smear the hell out of him," a top FOX source said.
The lawsuit does not directly address the content of the book on charges of libel, rather it claims Fox has trademarked "Fair and Balanced" to describe its news coverage and that Mr. Franken's use of the phrase would "blur and tarnish" it.
Nearly a month before its release, the Franken work has rocketed and lodged itself at #1 on AMAZON's sales list.
Developing...
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