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How Libel is Committed

Journalist 3 & 2 - Introduction to Journalism and other reporting practices
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CHAPTER 10 LIBEL,  RIGHT  OF  PRIVACY,  FREEDOM  OF INFORMATION  AND  COPYRIGHT Is the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution the same to a reporter as an umpire’s “call ’em as I see ’em” license?   Is   the   new   city   official   really   a   crafty, communist sympathizer? To the grief of many a publisher and reporter, there is  no  absolute  license  to  print  whatever  one  pleases about a private citizen or about the government. Free  speech  and  free  press,  as  guaranteed  by  the Constitution, have two sides: on one side, the right to use them; on the other, the duty not to abuse them. When the  news  media  abuses  its  right  to  a  free  press,  they commit   an   age-old   offense   known   as   libel   —   the defamation of a person’s reputation. Because your job is to write about the Navy, you should   become   acquainted   with   the   danger   of defamation. This chapter provides information on what you  should  guard  against  when  releasing  material  to  the news media or publishing it in internal publications. It also acquaints you with the right of privacy and some of the laws of copyright. LIBEL AND SLANDER LEARNING   OBJECTIVE:   Define   libel   and slander;  identify  how  libel  is  committed  and determine  who  is  responsible  for  a  libelous story. Libel is a difficult offense to describe. Libel laws are state laws, and there are differences in the definitions of  libel  from  state  to  state.  For  the  purposes  of  this training manual, we will define libel as follows: Libel is a published (written, printed or pictured)   defamation   that   unjustly holds   a   person   up   to   ridicule, contempt, hatred or financial injury. All states agree that libel is a defamation, an act that tends to degrade or lower a person in the eyes of others. The effects can subject a person to ridicule, hatred or contempt  (or  all  three),  or  they  can  cause  a  person financial  injury  by  hurting  the  person’s  property  or business or by causing loss of employment. As  you  can  see,  defamation  does  not  have  to  be sensational  to  be  libelous.  A  picture  with  the  people erroneously identified in the caption can be libelous. A newspaper   headline,   even   if   the   story   under   it   is blameless, can be libelous. Radio and television are not exempt from libel laws. A picture on television can be as libelous as one printed in  a  newspaper.  A  radio  broadcast  can  defame  an individual, although there is some dispute in the courts as  to  whether  the  offense  would  be  libel  or  slander. Slander  differs  from  libel  chiefly  in  that  it  is  spoken instead of printed, written or pictured. In other words, slander is defamation by oral communication. A major distinction  between  libel  and  slander  is  found  in  the word “published.” Since slander is an oral defamation, the courts tend to view it as a lesser offense than libel because the words, once uttered, are quickly gone. Libel, on the other hand, is a published wrong and is felt to endure   longer   and   thus   cause   greater   injury. Consequently, the law is much stricter in dealing with libel cases than with slander claims. However,  the  subject  becomes  a  bit  cloudy  when oral remarks (slander) are read from a written script or when  they  are  recorded.  Therefore,  you  should  exercise equal  care  to  avoid  both  oral  and  written  defamatory statements. True statements about a person also can be libelous. Many people think that libel results only from untruths told   about   another.   This   is   not   so.   The   truth   can sometimes defame an individual as much as a lie. A simple defamation, however, is not always libel. The  following  are  three  conditions  that  are  necessary before a statement becomes libel: There  must  be  a  true   defamation.   In  other words, a person’s character or property must in some way be degraded. There must be  clear  identification  of the person. This identification, however, does not have to be by name. A writer (or an artist) can very easily leave  no  doubt  in  the  public’s  mind  as  to  a person’s   identity   without   mentioning   the individual’s  name.  Even  if  only  a  few  persons 10-1







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