The 50 million dollar civil suit was brought by the family of Scott Amedure, whose lawyers argued that ``ambush'' tactics used by Jones resulted in the shooting death of Amedure by another guest, Jonathan Schmitz, for whom he harboured a secret homosexual crush.

The defendants were Time-Warner and Telepictures, owners and producers of Chicago-based Jones' nationally-syndicated Jenny Jones Show, known for its racy and often explicit themes.

James Feeney, a lawyer for the defendants, called the verdict a ``disappointing result'' but expressed confidence that ``there will be a different result'' on appeal.

Geoffrey Fieger, the flamboyant lead attorney for the Amedure family who is best known for his defense of euthanasia guru Jack Kevorkian, hailed the verdict for ``striking a blow for justice andfreedom''.

He said the decision also sent a message ``implicitly to the entire (television) industry which abuses individuals, takes advantage of individuals and uses the emotions of individuals for entertainment''. ``That type of human exploitation needs to bee corralled,'' he told a press conference.

But Feeney countered: ``From the standpoint of this being a statement about what reality-based shows should or should not do, anyone involved in the business of interviewing ordinary people... ought to be very concerned about the chilling effect this verdict could have.''

Schmitz, a heterosexual, was not told in advance that Amedure, a gay acquaintance, had a crush on him.

On his return to Michigan three days after the show's taping, Schmitz shot Amedure at point blank range and later called authorities to say he had done it because he had felt humiliated by Amedure's revelation.

In his fantasy described during the taping of a show segment in March, 1995 that never aired, Amedure had told how hewanted to tie Schmitz in a hammock, cover him with whipped cream and strawberries and lick it off.

``This murder was totally unforeseeable... We do not feel the show was to blame,'' Zazi Pope, a senior vice president for Warner Brothers said. ``We think we will be vindicated by a higher court.''

During the trial, Jones was accused by Fieger of being insensitive, obsessed with ratings and careless in gathering information for her show.