Newspaper wants damages from Moore

An American newspaper is seeking $1 in damages, after it claims Michael Moore misrepresented it in his controversial film "Fahrenheit 9/11".

16:44 02 August 2004

An American newspaper is seeking $1 in damages, after it claims Michael Moore misrepresented it in his controversial film "Fahrenheit 9/11".

The Pantagraph newspaper in Bloomington has sent a letter to the director and the film's distributor, Lions Gate Entertainment. The paper is seeking an apology for using what it claims is a doctored version of its front page in Moore's latest film, along with the $1 damages.

The contentious scene occurs early on in the film, when a series of headlines are shown relating to the 2000 US presidential election. As part of this there is a shot of The Pantagraph's December 19th, 2001, front page - with the prominent headline: "Latest Florida recount shows Gore won election."

But the paper itself claims that ths was not the headline on that day.

According to The Pantagraph the headline displayed was carried, but on December 9th that year, it was used in much smaller type over a letter to the editor - which the paper says reflects "only the opinions of the letter writer."

"If [Moore] wants to 'edit' The Pantagraph, he should apply for a copy-editing job," the paper asserted.

Neither the film's distributor, Lions Gate, nor Moore himself were immediately available for comment.