DaddySatyr
Posts: 9381
Joined: 8/29/2011
From: Pittston, Pennsyltucky
Status: offline
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I've spoken on this, before:
Reporters and news agencies are held accountable, when they commit libel.
The issue is that public figures have less protection than average, every-day Joes.
The biggest element of a libel case is: the offending words must be false. Let's start with that:
" 'User X' is a racist". A pretty offensive statement, but, unfortunately an all-too common one, around here. If the alleged libeler can find one statement that can be twisted to prove that "User X" is, indeed a racist, the alleged libeler is in no trouble.
the other element of libel is that the injured party has to prove that some damage has been done to them by the false statement. I don't care what level a person is at, that's a pretty tough element to prove.
"Trump is a racist". Is that statement (whether true or not) going to cause him to lose his job? Hardly. He's a self-employed billionaire. You could make the argument that it will cost him a job he wants, but since voting is not a sure thing and there's no real way to prove how much affect that kind of thing had on the voting, he's out of luck.
So, the alleged libelous statements have to be false (and demonstrably so) and they have to cause injury, also demonstrably.
I will use my friend, BamaD, as an example.
I'm writing a piece and I decide I want to include the fact that I saw BamaD getting on with his neighbor's wife. I have photos, but I'm the only one that knows that.
BamaD's neighbor goes next-door beats the snot out of Bama.
Bama gets a lawyer and charges me with "libel". I produce the photos. Even though Bama was injured, I'm not guilty because my piece was true (though, a pretty scummy move. I'll expand on this, in a bit).
Same scenario, but I lose my photos somehow.
We go to court and I can't produce evidence of Bama's indiscretion. I could, very easily, be found guilty.
Journalist need to be almost completely unencumbered in order for our republic to work properly and to survive. Look at what happened a couple of years ago to Rosen from FOX. That was a fucking travesty, but no one has the balls to call Dumbo-Ears onto the carpet. What this government did to Rosen should have had heads, sitting on spikes on Pennsylvania Avenue, but the the lefties control the media and are nothing but a propaganda arm of the government, when the dems are in power.
The issue is not legal accountability. The issue is integrity. There's an old news expression: "If it bleeds, it leads". Blood, chaos, etc. sell newspapers (or TV ratings).
Blame Roone Arlidge who decided that news divisions should make money.
Michael
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A Stone in My Shoe
Screen captures (and pissing on shadows) still RULE! Ya feel me?
"For that which I love, I will do horrible things"
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Journalistic freedom - 
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