Recent court setbacks for news organizations are prompting jitters among First Amendment advocates
A string of recent court setbacks for news organizations is prompting jitters among First Amendment advocates who fear that it could signal an erosion of the deference press outlets have enjoyed for decades in cases challenging their reporting.
The recent rulings involved well-known, national media outlets: National Public Radio, The New York Times and Fox News. All the decisions evinced serious doubts about the media’s actions. 2nd Circuit Judge John Walker said the district judge was wrong to reject “a permissible inference” that Bennet — and, by extension, the Times — intentionally lied by asserting Palin’s connection to the shooting.
Some First Amendment advocates and scholars have downplayed the decisions. They note that news organizations have also posted some notable wins in the past year or so, with two different judges ruling against the Trump White House’s efforts to strip credentials from CNN reporter Jim Acosta and Playboy correspondent Brian Karem.
One such ominous sign came in February as Justice Clarence Thomas argued that the Supreme Court should revisit the bedrock of American libel law: the court’s 1964 ruling in. The ruling established the “actual malice“ standard, making it very difficult for public figures to prevail in defamation cases.
However, Trump has kept up the public drumbeat in favor of more suits against the media. Just in the past few days, he has repeatedly urged Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to sue the Times over an article that contained a new allegation against him of inappropriate sexual conduct at Yale decades ago, but initially failed to note that friends of the woman said to be involved have said she does not recall it.
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