| Supreme Court |
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Media Lawyer Will Petition SCOTUS to Hear Records Case
Colorado Independent
“We will be arguing to the court,” Steve Zansberg said, “that the ruling of the Colorado Supreme Court resolved an important question of constitutional law contrary to courts of appeal and the U.S. Supreme Court.”
See also
Colorado Supreme Court Holds There Is No Constitutional Protection for Public Access to Court Records
MLRC MediaLawLetter
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| Reporter’s Privilege |
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| Defamation |
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S.D.N.Y.: Mariah Carey Wins $2 Million Defamation Battle With South American Promoters
The Blast
The promoters countersued and accused Mariah of defaming them in a tweet that read, “Devastated my shows in Chile, Argentina & Brazil had to be canceled. My fans deserve better than some of these promoters treated them.”
Order: Mirage Entertainment v. FEG Entretenimientos
Lawyer: We’re ‘finalizing’ a libel lawsuit against Elon Musk over ‘pedo’ tweet
CNN
Atlanta-based attorney L. Lin Wood, a prominent defamation lawyer, told CNN Wednesday that he is in the process of “finalizing the libel complaint” and expects to file it “in the next several days” in a Los Angeles federal court.
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| Privacy |
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| Access/Freedom of Information |
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| Newsgathering |
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National Enquirer Had Decades of Trump Dirt. He Wanted to Buy It All.
New York Times
The move by Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen indicated just how concerned they were about all the information amassed by the company, American Media, and its chairman, David Pecker, a loyal Trump ally of two decades who has cooperated with investigators.
Democrat Threatens to Sue In Security Clearance Document Clash
Courthouse News
A Democratic congressional candidate in Virginia is threatening legal action against a conservative PAC that shared an unredacted copy of her federal security clearance application with the press.
‘My life is threatened.’ Listen to Sen. Daphne Campbell call 911 on a Herald reporter
Miami Herald
When a Miami Herald reporter questioned state lawmaker Daphne Campbell after a candidates event, she called 911 to ask for police protection.
As his isolation intensifies, Assange faces possible threat of eviction, extradition
ABC News
For Julian Assange, the world’s most famous whistleblower, freedom could be dangerous.
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| Prior Restraint |
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Cal. Super.: Another “Stop Talking About Him” Court Order, This One Obtained by Convicted Securities Fraudster
Volokh Conspiracy
Tracy Zona was ordered to “remove forthwith, all references to petitioner the family and legal representatives and make no further posting in re of any kind”; she was then ordered to spend five days in jail unless she removed the posts (which she did).
Order: Appel v. Zona |
| Broadcast/Cable/Satellite |
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Comcast Gets Notice That NBC Antitrust Scrutiny Will Persist
Bloomberg
Antitrust restrictions placed on Comcast Corp. after its takeover of NBCUniversal are due to expire in a few days. But that doesn’t mean the Justice Department is done scrutinizing the company. |
| Internet / New Media |
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D.D.C.: Conservatives Hit Tech Giants With $1B Free Speech Suit
Law360
After President Donald Trump raged on Twitter, a conservative nonprofit sued Facebook, Google, Twitter and Apple for $1 billion in Washington, D.C., federal court Wednesday, alleging they violated antitrust statutes and the First Amendment by censoring conservative content.
Complaint: Freedom Watch v. Google
D. Me.: Federal judge allows free-speech lawsuit against LePage to continue
Bangor Daily News
A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that a free-speech lawsuit against Gov. Paul LePage for blocking two Maine activists from his Facebook page can move forward, rejecting the governor’s request to throw it out.
Should Google, Twitter and Facebook be worried about Trump’s threats?
Columbia Journalism Review
Trump might find it tough going if he actually tries to legislate anything.
See also
I wrote the article about media bias in Google searches. Regulation isn’t the answer.
Washington Post
But Americans should be alarmed about bias on the Internet.
Google, Facebook, Twitter chiefs called back to Senate Intelligence Committee
TechCrunch
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) said in a release that the social media giants will be asked about their responses to foreign influence operations on their platforms in an open hearing on September 5.
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| Internet Privacy |
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How should we regulate facial recognition?
The Verge
A string of embarrassing stories in recent months has driven home exactly how dangerous the technology can be in the wrong hands, and it’s led to new calls for regulation.
Telegram starts to play nice with security agencies over user data, but not in Russia
ZDNet
Under encrypted messaging app Telegram’s new privacy policy, it could hand over user IP and phone details given the right court order.
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| Intellectual Property |
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Fed. Cir.: Oracle v. Google ain’t over yet — Google vows it’ll appeal to Supreme Court
CNet
The search giant said Tuesday that it’ll appeal the case to the Supreme Court, after a federal appeals court declined to rehear the case in which it determined the company’s use of Java software from Oracle went beyond the bounds of fair use.
Order on Petition for Rehearing: Oracle America v. Google
W.D. Va.: GOP Rep. Can’t End Copyright Suit Over Anti-Immigrant Ads
Law360
A federal judge is refusing to dismiss a photographer’s copyright lawsuit that accused a Republican congressman of using an image of the Mexican border for the “deplorable” purpose of an anti-immigration ad.
Order: Bigelow v. Garrett
This Music Theory Professor Just Showed How Stupid and Broken Copyright Filters Are
Motherboard
Automated takedown systems don’t work, stifle free expression online.
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| Commercial Speech |
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W.D. Mo.: Is there a constitutional right to market “fake meats”?
Constitution Center
A battle is brewing in federal court over a new Missouri law that bans associating plant-based foods such as Tofurky with meat or poultry products. |
| Media Business |
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It looks like Tronc is about to be chopped up and sold for parts
Nieman Journalism Lab
Rupert Murdoch owning the New York Daily News? A McCormick controlling the Chicago Tribune again? The L.A. Times pulling a Washington Post, aiming to run the industry’s underlying infrastructure? A lot of change is coming soon.
Newspaper industry gets the tariff release it has sought. Now what?
Poynter
The newspaper industry won an important victory in the International Trade Commission today, voiding so-called “dumping” penalties that had raised the price of Canadian newsprint as local papers are facing huge financial challenges.
Tabloid that kept Trump secrets faces losses, legal trouble
Associated Press
More broadly, the documents obtained by the AP show that American Media isn’t making enough money to cover the interest accruing on its $882 million in long-term debt and that the company expects “continued declines in circulation and advertising revenues” in the current year.
“Thank F–king God They Didn’t Sell to Pecker”: Meredith’s Sale of Time Inc.’s Crown Jewels Is Dragging On—But There Are Still Blessings to Count
Vanity Fair
Is A-Rod a buyer for Sports Illustrated? Is Salesforce C.E.O. Marc Benioff a match for Fortune? Will Fortune become a luxury mag? Are prices plummeting? A summer of limbo prompts many speculations.
Sinclair Broadcasting Files Countersuit Against Tribune for Giving Up on Deal
Hollywood Reporter
Sinclair presents itself as having been fully committed to the $3.9 billion deal despite regulatory resistance. Tribune? Not so much.
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| Media Technology |
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Tech giants bet the future of TV is over $10,000 massive screens with eye-popping colors
CNBC
It seems like we’ve just got 4K TVs and already the world’s largest electronics manufacturers are talking up the next generation of the technology: 8K.
Silicon Valley is changing, and its lead over other tech hubs narrowing
The Economist
Great success has brought high costs and structural change.
Non-Google search engine launches a news module based on “diverse, quality sources”
Nieman Journalism Lab
Bing this week launched an AI-driven news feature, “Spotlight,” that “provides overviews of news topics that you can see right in the Bing search results when you search for major developing news stories.”
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| Labor Issues |
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Facebook head of news products Alex Hardiman defects from Facebook for The Atlantic
Digiday
One of Facebook’s big hires to improve its relations with publishers is leaving for The Atlantic. Alex Hardiman was head of news products for Facebook, collaborating with news partnerships head Campbell Brown. |
| International |
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Afghanistan journalism continues to suffer after its deadliest attack
Columbia Journalism Review
Australia: Judge orders court documents to be tied to front gates of John Ibrahim’s mansion after garbage collector accused him of defamation for calling him ‘a hitman’ in his best-selling book
Daily Mail
Australia: Mark Latham’s ‘extraordinary’ defamation defence thrown out
Sydney Morning Herald
He alleges Latham defamed him in an Outsiders episode on August 2 last year, titled “The Rise of Anti-White Racism and Terrorist Plots in Australia”, by suggesting he “knowingly assists terrorist fanatics who want to kill innocent people in Australia”, “condones the murder of innocent people by Islamic terrorists”, and “encourages and facilitates terrorism”.
Brazil: Fake news again sours Brazilian politics as election looms
Irish Times
Disinformation used to target voters on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and other networks.
China launches platform to stamp out ‘online rumors’
Reuters
China has launched a platform, which includes a mobile app, that lets the public report “online rumors” and even uses artificial intelligence to identify reports that are false, as Beijing cracks down on what it views as socially destabilizing content.
German Officials: ‘Fake News’ Helped Stoke Anti-Migrant Riot
VOA
Mexico: Television reporter killed
AFP
A Mexican television reporter was shot dead Wednesday in the resort city of Cancun, becoming the eighth journalist to be killed this year in a country notoriously dangerous for the media.
UK: IPSO tells Telegraph to publish correction over two ‘significant inaccuracies’ in extensive reporting on Sam Allardyce football ‘corruption’ sting
Press Gazette
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| Miscellaneous |
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Trump Targets CNN, NBC Bosses and NBC News Over James Comey Interview
Hollywood Reporter
In early morning tweets, Trump went after CNN boss Jeff Zucker, NBC News’ Andy Lack and claimed — without evidence — that NBC News’ Lester Holt was caught “fudging” his May 2017 interview about firing Comey.
See also
‘You’re the enemy of the people,’ man allegedly said in threat to Boston Globe
CNN
A California man allegedly made a series of threats to Boston Globe employees in which he echoed President Trump’s anti-press language.
The FBI’s secret investigation of Ben Bagdikian and the Pentagon Papers
Columbia Journalism Review
Records recently released under the Freedom of Information Act show that the bureau used intrusive techniques to gather information about the actions of Bagdikian, then a top editor at the Post and a contributor to the Columbia Journalism Review.
California Lawmakers Want a Study of Fake News (If Someone Else Pays for It)
Technology & Marketing Law Blog
The California legislature, demonstrating its characteristic leadership on tough issues, passed one of the nation’s first new laws addressing fake news. The law decisively calls for a government study of the problem…and only if the private sector pays for it. Wait, what???
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| Editorials |
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| From MLRC |
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MediaLawLetter July 2018
New York Limits Reporters’ Right to Challenge Subpoenas; An Update On The Reporters’ Shield Bill; Mexican Journalist Seeking Asylum Finally Free From Detention; Texas Court Affirms Dismissal of Libel Case Against Dallas Morning News; Swing and a Miss for Copyright Claim Against “The Art of Fielding”; 10 Questions for CNN’s Lee Williams and more. |
