Why WBZ Boston’s Bob Lobel Sued New Bedford Standard-Times

Former WBZ-TV Channel 4 sportscaster Bob Lobel sued The Standard-Times in 2005, winning a settlement and a public apology from the newspaper's then-editor Bob Unger.

In the apology published on November 19, 2005, Unger admitted the paper "hurt someone for no reason."

Robert "Bob" Lobel was born December 24, 1943, in Apple Creek, Ohio. He graduated from Kent State University and obtained his master's degree at the University of Vermont. He launched his broadcast career at WVNY-TV Channel 22 in Burlington, Vermont, before joining radio station WJOY, Burlington, then WGIR radio in Manchester, New Hampshire.

In 1976, Lobel joined WBZ radio in Boston. Three years later, he transitioned to WBZ-TV. Lobel remained with Channel 4 for 29 years until his release in 2008. He rejoined WBZ radio briefly in 2009.

Since 2009, Lobel has worked for several radio stations, at Fenway Park as an announcer and for MeTV Boston.

Lobel suffers from spinal stenosis, which strictly limits his mobility.

In 2005, Lobel filed a libel suit against Darby Conley (creator of the "Get Fuzzy" comic strip) and its distributor, United Feature Syndicate. A May 13, 2005 edition of the strip implied that Lobel was drunk while on the air doing a sports broadcast.

Lobel also sued The Standard-Times in New Bedford, which published the disputed strip without censoring it as other newspapers had.

Lobel and Conley reportedly settled the suit out of court.

In his apology, Unger called the edition of the strip "sophomoric" and "mean-spirited" and said, "The Standard-Times should not have published it."

Unger disclosed that the newspaper had reached an out-of-court settlement with Lobel and would no longer carry the "Get Fuzzy" comic strip.