Croce v. New York Times
The Reporters Committee and a coalition of 41 media organizations filed an amici brief in Croce v. New York Times, a defamation case currently before the Sixth Circuit. The case concerns reporting by the Times regarding allegations of misconduct against cancer researcher Dr. Carlo Croce. The brief argues that science reporting often includes stories about ongoing controversies, and that the news media must be able to report on these matters without fear of defamation liability. It argues that Ohio’s “balanced-report” analysis, which was applied by the district court in finding for the Times, is in line with doctrines from other jurisdictions that protect reporting about ongoing controversies. Finally, the brief argues that Ohio has adopted the innocent construction rule and that the district court correctly applied it in this case.