CH 4 Which of the following professions might be party to a libel suit Advertising copywriter public relations representative online journalist Regardless of the outcome libel suits filed against the mass media Take a lot of time and money just to defend Even though it consists of many legal components libel may generally be described as the publication or broadcast of A statement that injures someone s reputation in the community Since its inception a primary rationale behind libel is to Allow an injured party to repair any damage that has been caused through libelous material The defendants named in a SLAPP suit often involve Citizen groups who criticize a company s operations or conduct The five elements that a plaintiff must successfully demonstrate in a libel suit against the mass media are Publication identification defamation falsity and fault Recent trends indicate that when people or companies are aware they won t be able to prove the necessary elements for libel they May bring forward claims that center on the conduct of journalists e g trespass breach of contract If a local station affiliate airs a defamatory story that runs during the network evening news the local station May be sued for libel but only if there was scienter An important element of defamation includes demonstrating that the communication Damaged a person s own perception of who they are resulted in actual harm to a person s reputation reached a significant majority of the population In order for publication to occur in a libel suit against a newspaper a plaintiff must show that One additional person other than the writer and person defamed saw the material Libelous publication on the Internet may occur in the form of Email web page real time chat As a result of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 online service providers OSPs like America Online who are the subject of libel suits based in the U S Are not liable for publishing defamatory material that originates from a third party In regards to a libel suit identification May be demonstrated even if the person is not identified directly by name What is the difference between defamatory words that are libelous on their face and words that are innocent on their face Words that are libelous on their face always carry a defamatory effect while words that are innocent require the knowledge of other facts to become defamatory In Raye vs Letterman 1987 the court determined defamation did not take place because No one could reasonably understand Dave s remark to be true When a trial court is determining whether or not a statement is defamatory the Judge must first rule upon whether the words are capable of defamatory meaning Judge or jury must determine if the words convey a defamatory meaning Judge and jury usually consider the ordinary meaning of the alleged defamatory words Based upon the ruling in Kaelin v Globe Communications Corp 1998 courts may determine an article is defamatory based upon Innuendo that appears in a story s headline Employing the term alleged in a story when dealing with criminal accusations Fails to provide a reporter with the necessary protection from a libel claim If not used accurately which of the following categories of words may result in defamatory meaning Sexual promiscuity personal habits and traits ridicule If a story alleges an individual home was constructed poorly the single mistake rule Protects a reporter from libel unless the story suggests a pattern of incompetence In states that have adopted a survival statute It may be possible to continue a libel suit even if the plaintiff dies Trade libel refers directly to Criticism of a product When an article defames a private person but addresses issues of public concern The plaintiff must demonstrate falsity In terms of falsity that may take place within the context of direct quotes A defendant may make minor word mistakes just as long as the gist of the quoted material is true In Texas Beef Group vs Winfrey 2000 the U S Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Affirmed the dismissal of the libel claim because no knowingly false statements had been stated about cattle CH 5 In New York Times vs Sullivan 1964 the U S Supreme Court ruled Sullivan could not recover damages against the New York Times because the paper had not acted with actual malice Which of the following was part of the rationale behind the ruling in New York Times v Sullivan 1964 Officers of the government should expect their performance to be scrutinized and criticized by the public New York Times v Sullivan 1964 stemmed from the running of an advertisement that was critical of A police commissioner and his force s behavior on an Alabama college campus Which of the following statements is correct regarding libel plaintiffs and the fault requirement All citizens whether public or private figures must demonstrate fault Negligence applies as the fault requirement when libel plaintiffs are Private persons Actual malice applies as the fault requirement to all ALL OF THE ABOVE Public officials All purpose public figures Limited purpose public figure The clearest way to determine whether someone is a public official is if the individual Was elected by the public to a government position In Rosenblatt v Baer 1966 the U S Supreme Court ruled that at the very least public officials are those who Have or appear to the public to have a substantial responsibility for the conduct of governmental affairs Courts have determined that police officers are Public officials because they protect the safety of citizens Even if the plaintiff is considered to be a public official within his or her occupation the actual malice fault requirement may only be applied if the libelous communication concerns Both A and B are correct A The manner in which the plaintiff conducts him or herself while carrying out their public official responsibilities B The plaintiff s general fitness to hold his or her public official position Which of the following would likely be considered to be an all purpose public figure All of the above A A well known corporate executive like Bill Gates B A well known national entertainer like David Letterman C A well known local community leader who is heavily involved in civic activities and libeled by the community newspaper One of the factors that courts use to determine if a libel plaintiff is a limited purpose public figure is to examine whether The plaintiff voluntarily becomes involved in trying to influence
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