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PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – Longtime CNN journalist Fuzz Hogan remained defiant as the controversial report at the center of a high-stakes defamation trial was scrutinized by lawyers of the plaintiff, Zachary Young.
Young, a U.S. Navy veteran, alleges CNN smeared him in a November 2021 report that first aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” suggesting he illegally profited off desperate people trying to flee Afghanistan following the Biden administration’s military withdrawal, implying he was involved in “black market” dealings and ruining his professional reputation as a result.
Hogan, who at the time of the report was a CNN senior editor, testified that the story he approved had no mention of the term “black market.” But he later said he thought the description was “accurate” in the context of the chaos that unfolded in Afghanistan and denied that there was a “negative connotation” to the term.
CNN journalist Fuzz Hogan denied there was a “negative connotation” to the term “black market” to describe U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young’s financial dealings in a report that aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” (CNN/Screenshot)
He claimed he was unaware of the on-air apology given in March 2022, months after the report aired, by CNN anchor Pamela Brown, who had filled in for “The Lead” host Jake Tapper.
“In November, we ran a story about Afghans desperate to flee the country who faced paying high sums beyond the reach of average Afghans. The story included a lead-in and banner throughout the story that referenced a ‘black market.’ The use of the term ‘black market’ in the story was an error. The story included reporting on Zachary Young,” Brown told viewers in March 2022.
“We did not intend to suggest that Mr. Young participated in the black market,” she continued. “We regret the error, and to Mr. Young we apologize.”
Longtime CNN journalist Fuzz Hogan said he was unaware that the network apologized for its report about Zachary Young but insisted the apology wasn’t necessary. (Fox News Digital/Law & Crime)
After watching the clip in court, Hogan said he didn’t agree that CNN should have apologized, which he repeatedly referred to as a “correction.”
“I didn’t think that the correction was necessary,” Hogan said, later adding he stands by the on-air report and called CNN’s online report “pretty good.”
Young attorney Joe Delich pulled up CNN internal communications Hogan had with digital editor Tom Lumley, who criticized correspondent Alex Marquardt’s reporting on the story as “not poetry in any way.”
“I just want to publish something to defuse some drama. I also think it’s half a good story,” Lumley wrote. “We should have carried on and reported it out more. Or he should have.”
“Right,” Hogan responded to Lumley. “It feels like a good character but we only got ¾ of the way toward the larger.”
When asked if he approved the publication of the story he felt was only “three-quarters to the larger,” Hogan replied, “Every story can be longer.”
He went on to say that he had no concern that “The Lead” report aired too soon or that it was incomplete.
CNN DEFAMATION TRIAL: JUDGE IMPOSES FINE FOR PERSONAL JABS AFTER CHAOS ERUPTS IN COURT
Hogan said he didn’t agree with CNN’s decision to air an apology, which was given by fill-in anchor Pamela Brown. (Screenshot/CNN)
Delich also pulled up communications showing Hogan calling Young a “sh–,” something Hogan owned on the witness stand. Delich later stressed the context of the exchange during his questioning of the CNN journalist, which Hogan confirmed was in response to comments Young told prospective clients accusing him of over-promising protective status to those stranded in Afghanistan. Hogan denied CNN’s reporting intended to hurt Young.
Later, when asked point-blank whether he would change anything about CNN’s reporting on Young, Hogan replied, “no.”
After CNN aired the controversial report, Hogan was promoted as one of the network’s standards and practices chiefs. According to his LinkedIn page, Hogan says he’s “responsible for ensuring that CNN’s reporting on television and online meets the network’s standards for accuracy, fairness and balance.”
NAVY VETERAN WARNED CNN REPORTER HE WOULD ‘SEEK LEGAL DAMAGES’ IF ‘INACCURATE’ STORY WAS PUBLISHED
Hogan called U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young a “s–t” in internal CNN communications leading up to the controversial on-air report. (Jessica Costescu)
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Hogan was the first CNN staffer to testify. Marquardt, the correspondent who led the CNN segment at the center of the defamation case, is expected to testify on Monday.
The trial is being streamed live on Fox News Digital.
