Court: News outlets didn’t defame ex-coal CEO Blankenship

By LEAH WILLINGHAM
Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — An appeals court has ruled that Fox News, CNN and other news outlets didn’t defame former coal executive Don Blankenship when they referred to him as a “felon.” Fourth Circuit Chief Judge Roger Gregory affirmed a district court’s determination that the 16 outlets sued by Blankenship did not act with “actual malice” amid coverage of his 2018 U.S. Senate campaign. He said Blankenship’s arguments are “mostly speculative and do not come close to the quantum of evidence needed.” Blankenship is the former CEO of Massey Energy, which owned a West Virginia mine where a 2010 explosion killed 29 workers. The court determined that journalists were confused about the meaning of the term “felon.”