All entries tagged: libel

Iceland aims to become an offshore haven for journalists and leakers

On Tuesday, the Icelandic parliament is expected to introduce a measure aimed at making the country an international center for investigative journalism publishing, by passing the strongest combination of source protection, freedom of speech, and libel-tourism prevention laws in the world.
Supporters of the proposal say the move would make Iceland an “offshore publishing center” [...]

The rise of single-serving libel insurance: If it’s good enough for bloggers, why not small newsrooms?

Sooner or later — as Diane Sawyer, Jeffrey Wigand or the National Enquirer could tell you — anyone who makes a living telling the truth is going to need a good lawyer. That’s why major metro newspapers carry libel insurance policies the size of Abrams tanks. Their deductibles alone can run into seven figures.
But what [...]

Noonan v. Staples: “The most dangerous libel decision in decades”

A long-established principle of libel law — truth is an absolute defense — has been called into question by a decision handed down last week by a federal appeals court in Boston.  The court ruled in the case of Noonan v. Staples that truth published with “actual malice” gleaned from the context of the statement [...]

9 comments | Posted by Martin Langeveld | February 18, 2009 | 10:23 am

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David Ardia: Why news orgs can police comments and not get sued

I wish every managing editor in the country could see this 20-minute video. I’ve heard so many misconceptions over the years about news organizations’ legal ability to police, manage, or otherwise edit the comments left on their web sites. They say “the lawyers” tell them they can’t edit out an obscenity or remove a rude [...]

12 comments | Posted by Joshua Benton | January 14, 2009 | 8:28 am

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