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February 2013

MediaLawLetter Associate Edition 2012 Issue 4

PUBLICATION:
in this issue

2013 Legislative Update: Congress’s Media Agenda for the Year Ahead

2013 Promises to Be an Interesting Year By Kathleen Kirby, Ari Meltzer and John Simpson Despite the intense battle for the White House and control of Congress, we are faced with the status quo in Washington.  In the House, Republicans still hold a majority.  Despite Democrat gains in the Senate, the net impact is negligible…

Cert. Petition Filed in Belfast Project Subpoena Case

Court Should Clarify Source Protection in Criminal Context Two journalists who conducted confidential interviews with IRA members as part of an oral history project on the Northern Ireland conflict filed a petition for certiorari this month asking the Supreme Court to rule that they are entitled to challenge a criminal subpoena on First Amendment grounds. …

Federal Court Denies Fox’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction Enjoining Dish Network’s Commercial-Skipping DVR

The District Court for the Central District of California has denied a motion brought by the Fox Broadcasting Company seeking to block Dish Network’s new DVR service that enables subscribers to entirely skip the commercials of the four major broadcast networks’ primetime schedules. Fox Broadcasting Co. Inc. v. Dish Network, L.C.C., 12-cv-4529 (C.D. Cal. Nov….

2012 MLRC Survey of Actions to Identify Newspaper Website Commenters

Newspapers See High Rate of Success in Protecting Identity of Commenters By Michael A. Norwick and Lindsey Davis Over the past several years, user comment areas on newspaper websites have become commonplace.  Subpoenas and other discovery procedures seeking to compel newspapers to disclose the names, e-mail addresses, IP addresses and other identifying information of commenters…

Australian Court Finds Google Liable for Defamatory Search Results

What Does This Decision Mean for Internet Service Providers? By Kate Ballis A Victorian plaintiff has now more than doubled the damages he has collected from defamation proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria this year. Hot on the heels of a AUD$225,000 award against Yahoo! earlier this year, on 12 November 2012, Google Inc…

Other Side of the Pond- Update on UK and European Media Law Developments

Troubles at the BBC, Elton John Libel Case, Comic Wins Libel Trial, Contempt Reform and More By David Hooper After the well-known disc jockey Sir Jimmy Savile died in 2011, the BBC prepared a programme investigating the allegations of sexual abuse that had surrounded Savile’s life.  Savile was remarkable in many respects in that during…

Defamatory Libel in Canada: Ottawa Restaurateur Given 90 Day Jail Sentence

By Richard G. Dearden and Anastasia Semenova Can you go to jail for defamatory libel in Canada? Yes. An Ottawa restaurateur was recently sentenced to 90 days in jail after being found guilty of defamatory libel under section 300 of the Criminal Code of Canada (R v Simoes) Ontario Court of Justice (Lahaie, J) November…

Lord Leveson Issues Report on the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press

Proposal for Press Regulation is Likely to Change Forever the UK Press By David Hooper Lord Leveson’s 2000 page report following a 16 month enquiry and its proposal for press regulation is likely to change for ever the UK press.  This article explains how and why the enquiry took place, the background of the arrests…

MLRC Forum on Challenges of Digital Technologies on Television Business Models

On Wednesday, November 14, 2012, the Media Law Resource Center held its annual Forum, this year focusing on new business-interrupting technologies that are impacting the television industry.  The two-hour session, titled, “We Interrupt This Broadcast…  Disruptive Technologies and New Television Business Models,” featured: Alan Wurtzel, President, Research & Media Development, NBCUniversal; Richard Greenfield, Media Analyst,…

MLRC 2012 Annual Dinner

Andrea Mitchell, Alex Castellanos and Governor Edward Rendell Discuss Money, Messaging  and the Media in the 2012 Presidential Campaign Left to right: Alex Castellanos, Andrea Mitchell, Govenor Edward Rendell On Wednesday, November 14, 2012, over 600 members and friends attended MLRC’s Annual Dinner at the Grand Hyatt in New York.  Andrea Mitchell of NBC News…

MediaLawLetter Associate Edition 2012 Issue 4

MLRC MLRC 2012 Annual DinnerAndrea Mitchell, Alex Castellanos and Governor Edward Rendell Discuss Money, Messaging and the Media in the 2012 Presidential Campaign MLRC Forum on Challenges of Digital Technologies on Television Business ModelsMinutes from the MLRC Annual Meeting INTERNATIONAL LIBEL AND PRIVAn CY UK: Lord Leveson Issues Report on the Culture, Practices and Ethics…