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| ===Successes=== | ===Successes=== | ||
| Edwards v. ], 1977<br/> | Edwards v. ], 1977<br/> | ||
| Christopher and Barry Roberts v. ]<ref>http://www.searchlightmagazine.com/index.php?link=template&story=203</ref> | Christopher and Barry Roberts v. ]<ref>http://www.searchlightmagazine.com/index.php?link=template&story=203</ref><br> | ||
| Barbara Schwarz v. The Salt Lake Tribune (See also ])<ref name=tribune>{{Citation|last =Smith|first =Christopher| publication-date =May 13, 2003| title = S.L. Woman's Quest Strains Public Records System| place =The Salt Lake Tribune| url =| accessdate =}}.</ref><ref name=fac>Hanby, Christopher First Amendment Center, 06.14.05.</ref> | |||
| ====Barbara Schwarz v. The Salt Lake Tribune==== | |||
| {{See also|Freedom of Information Act (United States)#Barbara Schwarz}} | |||
| In May 2003 the ] published an article entitled ''S.L. Woman's Quest Strains Public Records System''<ref name=tribune>{{Citation|last =Smith|first =Christopher| publication-date =May 13, 2003| title = S.L. Woman's Quest Strains Public Records System| place =The Salt Lake Tribune| url =http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Secrets/barbara_schwarz.html| accessdate =24/12/2007}}.</ref> documenting her extensive pursuit of ] records. When asked about Schwarz, government FOIA representatives described her as a nuisance. In reporting this the Tribune article included official's more specific comments depicting her as {{quotation|“...a ‘FOIA terrorist’ and have coined a verb reflective of her unending request letters: ‘Have you been Schwarzed today?’”<ref name=tribune/>}} | |||
| Her suit alleges that the Tribune's use of “yellow journalism” resulted in “malicious defamation”, “emotional abuse” and was accomplished by deceiving her into giving an interview, unauthorized use of her photo, violation of privacy, refusing to print a correction or letter to the editor, in addition to theft of approximately 100 photos and negatives.<ref name=fac>Hanby, Christopher First Amendment Center, 06.14.05.</ref> Despite her claims that “I run into that article just about everywhere I go with people who think that they can deny my rights to me because of the data provided in the Tribune article,” her suit was dismissed and her appeals denied.<ref name=fac/> | |||
| == References == | == References == | ||
| {{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
Revision as of 14:40, 31 December 2007
Neutral reportage is a common law defense against libel and defamation law suits usually involving the media and journalists. It is a limited exception to the common law rule that one who repeats a defamatory statement is just as guilty as the first person who published it. To be considered neutral reportage the statements must meet certain conditions.
- The statements are newsworthy and about a public matter.
- The statements are made by a responsible or prominent source
- The statements are about a public official or public figure
- The statements are repeated accurately and neutrally
Using this defense a defendant can claim that they are not implying the offending statement is true but simply reporting in a neutral manner that the potentially libelous statements were made.
The success of the defense can be mixed, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Patel stated that "there is a great deal of inconsistency among state court decisions" and the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to rule on the concept.
Notable cases where neutral reportage was used as a defense
Whilst the validity of the defense is questioned, it has been used successfully in some cases whilst other have failed to convince judges that they are protected by the defense.
Failures'
Troy Publishing Co. v. Norton, 2005 Khalid Iqbal Khawar v. Globe International Inc.
Successes
Edwards v. National Audubon Society, 1977
Christopher and Barry Roberts v. Searchlight Magazine
Barbara Schwarz v. The Salt Lake Tribune (See also Freedom of Information Act (United States)#Barbara Schwarz)
References
- Youm, Kyu Ho (2006). "Recent Rulings Weaken Neutral Reportage Defense". Newspaper Research Journal (Winter 2006). University of Memphis.
- U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear 'neutral reportage,' Virginia police records cases
- http://www.searchlightmagazine.com/index.php?link=template&story=203
- Smith, Christopher (May 13, 2003), S.L. Woman's Quest Strains Public Records System, The Salt Lake Tribune
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link). - Hanby, Christopher Utah appeals court backs reporting privilege First Amendment Center, 06.14.05.