Key Media Law Developments in India
By Raghav Mendiratta In 2017, India was ranked 136th on the World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Sans Frontiers (worse than Afghanistan, Columbia, Mozambique etc.).[1] Themes 1. Fake News / Misinformation Misinformation on WhatsApp leading to Lynching / Mob Violence Led to death of 30 persons since 2017 (unofficial number since the National Crime…
Use Of Affiliate Links Does Not Necessarily Transform Editorial Content Into Advertising Says NAD
By Terri J. Seligman In a significant new Decision, the National Advertising Division (NAD) has declined jurisdiction over content in Buzzfeed’s “Shopping Guide” because of its determination that it does not constitute “national advertising.” This Decision provides important guidance to advertisers and publishers, particularly with respect to the increasingly important issue of distinguishing editorial content…
Newspaper Petitions for SCOTUS Review of Colorado’s Categorical Rejection of Right to Access Judicial Records
Amici Support Invited By Steve Zansberg On September 28, 2018, The Colorado Independent, an online newspaper, filed a petition for certiorari review to the United States Supreme Court in which the Question Presented is: Does the public’s qualified First Amendment right of access defined by this Court in a series of cases culminating in Press-Enterprise…
First Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Priest / Hedge Funder Manager’s Libel Suit
Plaintiff Failed to Plausibly Allege Actual Malice Under Iqbal/Twombly In a decision reaffirming the fundamentals of the actual malice standard, a First Circuit panel affirmed dismissal of libel and related claims against Bloomberg over a financial news article. Lemelson v. Bloomberg, No. 17-1620 (Aug. 30, 2018) (Torruella, Lynch, and Kayatta, JJ.). The plaintiff, Emmanuel Lemelson,…
Court Rules Fair Report Privilege Does Not Apply to Statements Made to Police
Official Action Required Before Privilege Applies In the absence of any official government action, does the fair report privilege extend to a newspaper’s report of witness statements made to police? No, says the Appeals Court of Massachusetts. Butcher v. University of Massachusetts, No. 17-P-161 (Sept. 17, 2018). The court reinstated libel and related claims against…
MLRC’s First Amendment Leadership Award Presented to Tom Kelley
Introduction by Lee Levine The first time I ever laid eyes on Tom Kelley was November 1981. It was at the PLI Conference in NY at what was then called the Statler Hilton hotel across from Penn Station. The ballroom was packed and the panel was discussing the litigation disaster du jour—the $26 million judgment…
From the Executive Director’s Desk: Record Turn-Out for MLRC’s 2018 Media Law Conference
Sessions on the Trump Effect, Political Cartooning, Masterpiece Cakeshop, plus an Avenatti Cameo By George Freeman Although I might not be the most objective observer, all comments and evaluations we have so far received indicate that the MLRC Media Law Conference in Reston, VA was a massive success. The plenary sessions were timely and interesting…
MediaLawLetter September 2018
Download Publication MLRC From the Executive Director’s Desk: Record Turn-Out for MLRC’s 2018 Media Law ConferenceSessions on the Trump Effect, Political Cartooning, Masterpiece Cakeshop, plus an Avenatti Cameo MLRC’s First Amendment Leadership Award Presented to Tom Kelley 10 Questions to a Media Lawyer: Mickey Osterreicher LIBEL & PRIVACY Mass. App.: Court Rules Fair Report Privilege…