JR102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Actual Malice, False Light, Official
28 Jun 2018
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Department
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Professor
Libel, Privacy and Newsgathering Issues
❖Libel
➢Defamation by written words or by communication in some other tangible
form
➢Treated more harshly under law because it is more permanent
➢Elements of Libel Defined
■Defamation--a communication is defamatory if it is likely to injure
the reputation of the plaintiff among upstanding members of the
community
■Identification--the defamatory communication is either explicitly or
implicitly about the plaintiff
■Publication--the defamatory communication has been distributed to
at least one person other than the plaintiff
■Falsity--the plaintiff must present credible evidence that the
defamatory communication is false
■Injury--plaintiff must present evidence that he or she has suffered
some actual injury, which may be emotional, physical, economic, or
reputational
■Fault--the plaintiff must prove the defendant was negligent in
publishing the defamatory communication or published it with actual
malice
❖Slander
➢Defamation by spoken words or gestures
❖Public official or public figure
➢Public officials must hold some government position (but a grey area
exists between the top and bottom levels)
➢Three Types of Public figures
■Involuntary
■General purpose
■Limited-purpose
❖Major Defenses to Libel Suits
➢Truth
➢Fair-report privilege--people called in to testify in court cannot be sued for
defamation because of what they say on the witness stand
➢Fair comment and criticism--protects from libel suits people who express
their opinions about matters of legitimate public interest
❖Four Kinds of Invasion of Privacy
➢Intruding on a person’s seclusion or solitude
➢Giving publicity to private facts
➢Placing a person in a false light
➢Appropriating a person’s name or likeness for one’s own benefit
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