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Libel

This section covers the state law governing libel suits. The standards governing such suits are influenced by many things, including whether the subject of a story is a public figure or public official. This also covers the defenses to libel suits, including the "fair report" privilege, the opinion defense and anti-SLAPP laws.

    Digital Journalist's Legal Guide
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    Libel

     

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    Libel In The News

    Newspaper's statements about school principal are opinion and not defamatory, N.Y. judge rules
    05/01/2013
    Articles published by the New York Daily News calling a former school principal a “firebrand...
    Oakland mayoral candidate loses appeal of unsuccessful defamation suit against weekly newspaper
    04/30/2013
    A three-judge California appeals court panel has denied an Oakland mayoral candidate’s appeal...
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    Digital Journalist's Legal Guide

    Anti-SLAPP laws
    Short for strategic lawsuits against public participation, SLAPPs have become an all-too-common tool for intimidating and silencing critics...
    Immunity for reader comments under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
    The enactment fifteen years ago of a seminal piece of federal legislation intended to protect children from harmful material on the...
    Digital Journalist's Legal Guide

    From the Magazine

    NM&L Cover
    The News Media and The Law, Winter 2013
    Hawaii follows in California's footsteps in proposing new anti-paparazzi law
    Photo by Pacific Coast News Steven Tyler, seen here in Maui, wants to be able to sue photographers for taking unwanted pictures...
    Courts confront online reviews
    AP Photo/Jim Mone Marshall Tanick, above, represents Dr. David McKee in a suit against McKee’s patient’s son for...

    Briefs & Comments

    • Jennings v. Wallbuilder Presentations Inc.
      February 12, 2013

      David Barton, president of Wallbuilder Presentations Inc., sued Petitioners Judy Jennings and Rebecca Bell-Metereau for defamation in connection with a video the pair — who ran for the Texas State Board of Education in 2010 — produced about a controversy involving state school curriculum guidelines. Jennings and Bell-Metereau filed a motion to dismiss Barton's case under the Texas Citizens Participation Act.

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