Fact #21826

A jury in New York City, USA, awards $3.5m to broadcaster John Henry Faulk - the largest libel judgment in history to that date. Faulk had been blacklisted as a communist during the McCarthy era and had lost his job at CBS as a result. The libel award came at the end of a five year legal battle for compensation, but an appeals court subsequently lowered the amount to $500,000. Legal fees and accumulated debts erased most of the balance of the award. Faulk's story will inspire the song The Ballad Of John Henry Faulk by folk-protest songwriter Phil Ochs.