COMM 454 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: The New York Times, Elmer Gertz, Metromedia
16 Dec 2016
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The athenians had laws against speaking evil of the dead and against slandering fellow citizens with actionable words which included false charges of murder or of abusing one"s parents. In the u. s. , all laws concerning defamation are at the state level. There is no federal law of defamation, but the federal courts have the responsibility of deciding the constitutionally of state defamation laws and judgments. Most cases tried today are civil ones, in which one citizen sues another for monetary damages under tort law. Basic conditions: traditionally, the basic conditions required for a defamation suit to be actionable are defamation, publication, and identification. Fourth condition, fault was added in 1964 by supreme court. Defamation: defamation must occur, that is, the message must be perceived as insulting or harmful among right-thinking persons. Truth: the common law recognizes truth as an effective defense in defamation suits.
