MMMM # 406 --- New vs Old libel

    

     The U.S. Senate is trying to define "journalist", an increasingly difficult task in a world where one person can run a news website that looks like, uh, a news website.     
      And it does make a difference.
      Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard has hired a lawyer---Birmingham's Mark White--- to go after people spreadingwhat he says is false information about him, an announcement that may have sent a shiver through the pseudo-journalist crowd. 
     Some Wild-West style bloggers in Alabama consider themselves "reporters", but play fast and loose with the main currency in real journalism: the truth.
     Opinion and rumor and "analysis" is their way of life, but they still operate in a real world with real consequences. 
     They can be sued for libel, even though Hubbard's status as a public figures places the bar fairly high for a successful suit.
     The best defense against libel is the truth. If what they reported can be proven true, he won't have much of a case. And even if it was false, and those who spread it knew it was false,  his lawyers would have to prove there was "actual malice" (yes, as in the Paul Newman movie). To review:

APJI 23.10 Fault (Public Figure/Official Plaintiff): Actual Malice. Because the plaintiff is a public figure/official in regard to the statement that is complained of, the plaintiff must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant published the statement that is complained of with actual malice--that is, with knowledge that the statement was false or with "reckless disregard."In determining whether the defendant published in "reckless disregard" of whether the statement that is complained of was false or not, you must not consider whether a reasonably prudent person would have published the statement or would have investigated before publishing; instead, you must be clearly convinced that the defendant in fact entertained serious doubts as to the truth of the statement. Clear and convincing proof involves a degree of belief greater than the usually imposed burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence. Clear and convincing proof leaves no substantial doubt in your mind. It is proof that establishes in your mind not only that the proposition at issue is probable, but also that it is highly probable.*

It's easier to win a a suit if the person is not a public figure.

(*The legal opinion quoted above comes from a legal advice website called AVVO.com. I believe the analysis is truthful. And have absolutely zero malice towards visitors to this site.)

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ALSO: Some North Alabama residents certainly know the

economic impact of the digital media revolution. As reported earlier, 1,100 of them in Courtland will be out of work because International Paper is closing a mill that makes paper for...magazines. 
Those electronic 1's and 0's are a lot cheaper than paper. 

[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of TimLennox.com]