A legislation that would sharply curb press freedom in Florida is receiving backlash from the right with many media outlets warning that the “legislation is moving in exactly the wrong way.' Rare rift between DeSantis and right-wing media in Florida
Journalists outside Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s residence and private club, in Palm Beach, Fla., on Friday, March 31, 2023, a day after the former president’s indictment. Republican legislation in Florida could soon sharply curtail press freedoms.
Radel argued that the two proposed bills could prompt a torrent of costly libel suits against conservative websites and talk and news stations such as the one that broadcasts his program, a Fox News affiliate in Fort Myers. Such litigation could put stations like his out of business, he added, “and here is who’s going to pay the biggest price politically: Ron DeSantis.”
Randazza, whose firm has represented Alex Jones, the broadcaster who faces more than $1.4 billion in legal damages for defaming the families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims, said he was urging his clients to write letters to DeSantis and the bills’ sponsors asking them to drop the legislation. Rep. Alex Andrade said he sponsored the House bill to “bring back some reasonableness in the relationship” between the press and the public.
Last month, James Schwartzel, president of Sun Broadcasting, which owns the Fox affiliate where Radel’s show airs, sent an email to eight members of the Florida House, Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, and DeSantis’ communications director, calling for the officials to “KILL” the House version of the bill.
Concerns about the legislation aren’t limited to the press. Provisions in the bills would increase payouts to plaintiffs, while making it more costly for defendants to fight litigation. They would also allow defamation suits to be brought virtually anywhere in Florida, allowing for forum-shopping to increase plaintiffs’ chances of winning.
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