Pilot Program for Cameras in Federal Courtrooms Diluted by Onerous Restrictions

Image via WikipediaThe Committee on Court Administration and Case Management of the Judicial Conference of the United States ("CACM") last week unveiled rules governing a three-year pilot program allowing cameras in federal courtrooms, and the restrictions imposed invite the stereotypical temperamental Hollywood director to declare: "I can't work under these conditions!"

Fourteen U.S. District Courts across the nation have agreed to participate in the camera experiment, ranging from the Middle District of Alabama and the District of Kansas to the Northern District of Illinois and the District of Massachusetts. When the 27-member Judicial Conference voted last September to launch the pilot program (see "TUOL" post 9/16/10), several limitations were announced, including restricting video footage to civil proceedings, requiring the consent of all parties involved, and forbidding the videotaping of the faces of jurors or witnesses.

Further restrictions announced last week include using cameras owned by the court or a contractor with the court, giving judges sole control over deciding which proceedings may be recorded, barring recording of jury voir dire or sidebar conferences with counsel and not simulcasting the recordings, but rather, making them available as early as possible. The disappointing limitations announced by CACM reflect a half-hearted effort by the federal courts to open up justice to the viewing public, lacking in the enthusiasm shown by many state courts that have embraced cameras in the courtroom.

Federal courts of appeal judges at their discretion may permit broadcasting of proceedings, but only the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal for the Second Circuit and Ninth Circuit have voted to allow cameras in.

National Enquirer Parent Company Shopping Itself?

Image via WikipediaAccording to a story in today's New York Post, American Media, Inc.(AMI), parent company of supermarket tabloids The National Enquirer and Star Magazine, as well as other journals, including Muscle & Fitness and Radar Online, is looking for a buyer.

The Post claims private equity firm Apollo Management is kicking the tires. Apollo declined to respond to inquiries by the Post, but speculation remains the firm might consider snatching up AMI and combining it with its recent acquisition of CKX, which owns American Idol.

AMI emerged from a pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York [In re American Media, Inc., 10-BK-16140] in late 2010 (see "TUOL" post 11/17/10).  "TUOL" is hopeful that the National Enquirer's current owner holds out until it either is purchased by space aliens or adopted by Madonna or Angelina Jolie.

Dis-Concerting: Sun-Times Staffer Fired for Embellishing Glee Live! Review

Image via WikipediaPaige Wiser, a 17-year veteran Chicago Sun-Times staffer and Northwestern University Medill Journalism School alumna, has been fired for submitting an untruthful review of a Glee Live! concert earlier this month.

Wiser, the tabloid's TV critic, attended the concert with her two pre-teen children in tow. When one of her kids complained of feeling ill, Wiser left the event before it ended. Rather than inform her readers that she skipped out early, Wiser submitted a review that discussed an encore performance of the song "Friday," that, unfortunately for her, the cast did not perform. Compounding the error, Wiser's review also described the cast's performance of another tune that she did not personally observe.

In terminating the long-time columnist, Sun-Times editor Don Haynor apologized to readers, writing: "accuracy and honesty in reporting are essential parts of the promise we make to our readers. We regret the incident and apologize."

Poor judgment for sure, but "TUOL" believes Wiser suffered enough by having sat through most of the concert.

Bismarck Takes a Chancellor on Monthly Newspaper Launch

Image via WikipediaThe Great Plains Examiner, a monthly print and online newspaper focusing on political and business news serving Bismarck and Mandan, North Dakota, has launched, according to a blog post on Inforum.com.

The new publication, which prints monthly but will be updated online, is the brainchild of  32-year-old Bismarck native Matt Bunk, who serves as editor and publisher. Among the dozen or so investors, distributors and editorial types involved in the venture are writers Kelly Hagen, a former Bismarck Tribune columnist; freelancer Sarah McCurdy and history professor Steve Hoffbeck, Inforum.com reports.

Roughly 10,000 papers are distributed in Bismarck-Mandan, and both the print edition and Website access are free. The tabloid currently is looking for office space and an in-state printer.  People features, in-depth local news and investigative pieces are part of Bunk's vision for the Examiner.

News of the newspaper industry being on life-support may not yet have reached North Dakota. On the other hand, Bunk is a veteran newser and the Examiner may go far, or at least Fargo.

Extra!: National Enquirer Pitches Reality Series to CBS

Image via WikipediaAmerican Media, Inc.-owned supermarket tabloid The National Enquirer is working with CBS to develop a reality tv series involving the daring exploits of Enquirer reporters as they uncover, or create--depending on one's perspective--scandalous news stories.

The New York Post reports today that CBS veteran Has Gessner is producing the pilot series, Breaking It: Behind the Scenes at the National Enquirer, featuring Enquirer Executive Editor Barry Levine. Reportedly, one of the teaser items in the reel pitching the series includes 2008 footage of a secret liaison at a hotel involving Rielle Hunter and America's current favorite sleazeball du jour, former Sen. John Edwards.

"TUOL" is intrigued. National Enquirer and "reality" rarely appear in the same sentence. A caveat to the suits at Black Rock contemplating airing a series celebrating Enquirer snoops on the network where Murrow & Cronkite once roamed: If you 'Breaking It,' you bought it.

UPDATE: Too Much Media, Not Enough Journalist, NJ High Court Concludes

Image via WikipediaIn a 42-page decision this week, the N.J. Supreme Court in Too Much Media LLC et al. v. Shellee Hale (Case No. A-7-10, 066074) unanimously upheld earlier rulings by two N.J courts (see "TUOL" posts 4/23/10 & 7/8/09) that a Washington-based online message board poster was not protected from plaintiffs' defamation claim by the Garden State's shield law covering journalists [N.J. Stat. sec. 2A:84A-21].

Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner said Hale would have to be more akin to a traditional journalist to be able to invoke the state's broad shield law that protects reporters from having to disclose their confidential sources. In April 2010, the N.J. Superior Court Appellate Division found Hale was not a journalist, as she contends, because she was not connected to any media organization or engaged in journalistic functions, such as fact-checking, or subject to editorial review. New Jersey's recognition of a reporter's privilege dates back to 1933.

The plaintiffs, who have characterized the defendant's message board postings as online conversations, rather than a journalistic endeavor, are expected to proceed with discovery in their defamation lawsuit.

California Appeals Court Backs Talk Radio Yakker's Anti-Slapp Defense to Libel Claim

Image via WikipediaIn Michael J. Rood v. Steve Yuhas (Case No. D056840), an appellate panel of California's Court of Appeal Fourth Appellate District Division One unanimously held that a talk radio commentator was shielded from a libel claim by a former school principal by the state's anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) statute [CCP sec. 425.16].

In 2008, former principal Rood sued talk radio commentator Yuhas of A.M. 600 KOGO after the latter reported on an alleged audit involving whether Rood had used school resources to solicit ads for a gay magazine. Yuhas considered the publication at issue pornographic, and voiced his opposition to the principal's alleged conduct after confirming the existence of the inquiry and interviewing school district officials, among other background research.

Yuhas invoked the anti-SLAPP law, which protects journalists who provide a "fair and true report" of legislative, judicial or other official proceedings. Rood contended the audit did not constitute such a proceeding or investigation implicating the statute, thereby exposing Yuhas to personal liability, but the appellate court disagreed.

Pursuant to California law, the appellate panel concluded, "the record adequately supports Yuhas's claims that he was given facially reliable information, investigated and learned of an official District proceeding that involved Rood, sufficient to assert these privileges."

Rood had appealed a trial court's dismissal of the gist of his libel suit based on the anti-SLAPP defense.

French Journalists Can 'Tweet' & 'Poke' But Can't Say Twitter or Facebook

Image via WikipediaCSA, France's media regulator, invites French tv and radio stations to "Tweet" on Twitter and "poke" on Facebook to their heart's content, provided they don't identify the social media platforms by name, according to a Reuters article.

The CSA has no problem with French broadcast journalists urging their audience to visit their social network sites, but citing the commercial brands Twitter and Facebook by name runs afoul of the nation's laws against covert advertising, the Reuters article reports. A widely used French dictionary, however, has added the word "Tweet" to its pages, according to the article.

As far as the CSA is concerned, however, it's voir-le, ne le dites pas (See it, do not say it).

Chicago Tribune Offer to Subscribers: Pay More to Receive What You Used to Get?

Image via WikipediaThe Chicago Tribune, still in the throes of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, next week is rolling out an "enhanced" edition for home subscribers at a higher cost, though neither the price nor the "enhancements" debuting June 15 have yet to be disclosed.

According to Crain's Chicago Business, the parent Tribune Co. is responding to readers' feedback by introducing the design and content changes. Additional columns, features and news coverage are promised, but specifics are fuzzy. Newstand price for the Chicago Tribune will remain the same.

The Tribune Co. owns the Los Angeles Times and nearly two dozen local tv outlets, in addition to the flagship Chicago Tribune.  An iPad application is due later this month, according to Crain's.

UPDATE: Howling Pig Blogger's 4th A. Rights Violated by Colo. Prosecutor, Federal Judge Rules

Image via WikipediaThird time was the charm for teen blogger Thomas Mink, creator of the Howling Pig Website, whom a federal judge last week ruled had his constitutional rights violated by Weld County (Colo.) prosecutor Susan Knox, who approved a search warrant seizing the student's computer in a criminal libel probe.

In Thomas Mink v. Susan Knox, a Deputy District Attorney Working for the 19th Judicial District Attorney's Office in her Individual Capacity (Case No. 04-cv-00023-LTB-CBS), U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado Judge Lewis T. Babcock, in a 13-page opinion, granted Mink summary judgment, holding Knox liable under 42 U.S.C. sec. 1983 for violating Mink's Fourth Amendment protection against illegal search and seizure.

As previously reported by this blog (see "TUOL" post 7/22/10), the whole affair began when a University of Northern Colorado professor complained to police that Mink's Howling Pig Website altered his image and included defamatory content about him.  A criminal libel probe was launched and Knox okayed a search warrant of Mink's mother's home where he resided that culminated in his computer being confiscated.

Judge Babcock concluded Mink's efforts were protected satire under the First Amendment, which derailed Knox's contention that she was shielded from personal liability because she was acting in her capacity as a government official.  "Mr. Mink has established that Ms. Knox's alleged conduct violated his Fourth Amendment rights because there was no probable cause to believe that he had committed criminal libel," Judge Babcock wrote.

Judge Babcock was slow to come over to Team Mink, as on two previous occasions, the U.S. Court of Appeals reversed his dismissal of Mink's claim and remanded the case to him

Katie Couric Learning Her ABC's

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeBeginning in 2012, Katie Couric will go to work for her third "Big 3" network, hosting a syndicated daytime talk show for ABC.

Couric also will do spot duty for ABC News, according to The Huffington Post. Couric is poised to earn a cool $20 million, according to the celebrity Website www.TMZ.com.  Couric anchored The CBS Evening News for five years and previously co-hosted NBC's Today Show.

Newstand Sales of Glamour Unsightly

Image via WikipediaGlamour Magazine, Conde Nast's best-seller on newsstands, has suffered a 17 percent decline in sales over the first third of 2011, according to the WWDMedia Website.

With a $3.99 price tag, the drop-off in sales means a loss of newsstand revenue of more than $1.5 million. The Website post cited Audit Bureau of Circulations Rapid Report figures showing average sales of Glamour over the first four months of this year were 459,000, compared to 550,900 during the comparable period in 2010.

Glamour cover girls in 2011 have included actresses Reese Witherspoon, Emma Stone and Kate Winslet, along with the omnipresent Kim Kardashian. In contrast, fashion magazine Vogue experienced a 20 percent boost in newsstand sales during the first four months of 2011, but Elle's sales dropped 7 percent.

New Law Relaxes Press Restrictions in Qatar

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe Website www.Gulfnews.com reports a new media law approved in the Arab emirate of Qatar allows journalists to write about everything except national security matters.

The Peninsula, a Qatari daily, indicated the Ministry of Arts, Heritage & Culture is likely to be the authority licensing and overseeing the news media. Under the new measure, absent a court order, journalists cannot be detained by authorities. The new law also empowers journalists to protect the identity of confidential sources unless a court orders disclosure of the anonymous sources.

Additionally, the recently enacted media law shields journalists from being incarcerated if found liable for defamation, though such journalists could be subject to fines of up to QR50,000 ($13,729). Foreign journalists covering Qatar must possess a degree in mass communication, under the measure.

Magazine Nets a 'Tweet' Libel Settlement

Image via WikipediaPCMag.com reports on an unusual out-of-court resolution of a defamation suit--the defendant agreed to Tweet his apology to the plaintiff 100 times.

Malaysian blogger Fahmi Fadzil sent an unflattering post about Blu Inc. Media, publisher of Female Magazine, on June 25 that criticized the company about what he believed was its mistreatment of his pregnant friend that he claimed caused her to quit her employment with Blu Inc. Although Fadzil retracted his negative comment, Blu, Inc.'s attorneys sent him a letter demanding an apology and seeking monetary damages.

Instead, the parties agreed that Fadzil would Tweet the following mea culpa: "I've defamed Blu Inc Media & Female Magazine. My tweets on their HR policies are untrue. I retract those words and hereby apologize."  Who says you can't convey any message in 140 characters? Fadzil began sending his apology in 30-minute intervals to his approximate 5,300 followers.

Perhaps it's a cultural difference:  Malaysia employs the microblogging social platform of Twitter to resolve a defamation lawsuit, whereas in the U.S., as reported by this blog, the number of defamation suits involving Tweets are on the rise ("Twibel" is a likely entry in the next edition of the Oxford Dictionary).

Vermont Bolsters Public Records Law

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeVermont Gov. Peter Shumlin has signed H. 73, which strengthens the Green Mountain State's Public Records Law.

The measure, introduced by Rep. Donna G. Sweaney of Windsor, takes effect on July 1. Among the changes to the law are the requirement that individuals who successfully challenge a denied request for documents be reimbursed their legal fees and that state agencies designate a staffer "records officer" to handle requests and inquiries.

Municipalities do not have to appoint a records officer and the amended law does enable government agencies that lose a records request dispute to avoid paying the requester's attorneys fees if the entity produces the records being sought in the early stages of the legal action pursuing the documents. The new law also creates a panel to review the law's more than 200 exemptions, according to an article by the Associated Press.

TV Newser Sues Over False Porno Photos

Image via WikipediaThe U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee will hear a $50 million defamation case filed by a Chicago-native Memphis television reporter who claims the defendants posted false pornographic images purporting to be her online under the title: "Chicago Girls Need to Be Exposed."

The 14-page, nine-count Complaint in Lauren Lee Gauck v. Hooman Karamian a/k/a/Corbin Grimes a/k/a Nik Richie & Dirty World LLC et al. (Case No. 2:2011-cv-02346), includes claims alleging defamation, false light, misappropriation, emotional distress, intrusion and civil conspiracy. Gauck, 29,  known on-air as Lauren Lee, is a reporter for WHBQ-TV "Fox 13" in Memphis, according to an article on the Website of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Karamian, 32, of Scottsdale, Arizona, recently changed his name to Nik Lamas-Richie after marrying Shayne Lamas, the winner of "The Bachelor" reality show.

The complaint alleges the defendants' Website attracted 22,000 hits before the nude images that the plaintiff claims are not her were temporarily removed. The defendant touts himself as "The World's First Ever Reality Blogger" and concentrates on depicting embarrassing images and negative commentary of celebrities and non-famous individuals as well.

Grown-ups Surpassing the 'Baby Twitters'

Image via WikipediaPoynter.org's Romanesko media blog today offers up the latest results of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which finds 13 percent of adults who are active online use the microblogging social platform, Twitter, compared to only 8 percent of grown-ups who said they "Tweeted" when surveyed in November 2010.

Blacks and Latinos continue to be a fast-growing segment of Twitter users, as the survey found 25 percent of African-Americans online claim to Tweet now and then. Internet users in the 25-34 age group have turned to Twitter at double the rate in 2010, with 19 percent Tweeting, compared to 9 percent a year ago. Likewise, 14 percent of online-active adults aged 35 to 44 use Twitter, up from 8 percent in 2010.

Dutch Official Presses for Information Access Curbs: 'We was Wobbed'

Image via WikipediaPiet Hein Donner, The Netherlands' Home Affairs Minister, criticizing runaway costs and journalists' abuse, wants to restrict his country's Freedom of Information laws [Wet Openbaarheid Bestuur], known as "WOB."

Donner blamed journalists for engaging in fishing expeditions. WOB allows Dutch citizens to view government documents. Donner wants to empower officials to reject WOB requests that are "improper," and to narrow the scope of information searches  through officials consulting with individuals seeking the government documents, according to a story on the Website www.dutchnews.nl.

Article 111 of the Constitution of The Netherlands states that: "in the exercise of their duties, government bodies shall observe the principles of transparency in accordance with the rules to be prescribed by Act of Parliament."  WOB, enacted in 1991, allows an individual in writing or orally to request information involving an administrative matter if the data is contained in documents possessed by public authorities or companies carrying out work for a public authority. The authority has a two-week window in which to respond to a request.

It's unfortunate, given the people of The Netherlands' longstanding collective support for transparency in government and access to information to see Donner advocating "going Dutch" as it were.

Trio of Italian Journalists Jailed for Criminal Libel

Image via WikipediaTwo reporters for Il Centro, an Italian daily newspaper, and the paper's former editor, were convicted of criminal libel and jailed, according to the International Press Institute (IPI).

Walter Nerone and Claudio Lattanzio each received one-year jail terms, and former editor Luigi Vicinanza eight months in jail after a court in Chieti, Italy, found the three men defamed Franco La Civita, the former Mayor of  Sulmona, by writing in 2007 that he allegedly was being investigated concerning purported overseas bank accounts in his name. The court considered the allegations unfounded and further ordered the journalists to compensate La Civita 12,000 euros ($17,253).

Journalism organizations, including the Italian National Press Federation and the Journalists' Syndicate in Abruzzo,  were quick to condemn the "chilling effect" on free speech by the jailing of the reporters.

Appeals Court Orders Internal Affairs Cop Probe Be Produced to TV Station

Image via WikipediaIn Romero v. City of Fountain et al. (Case No. 11CA0690), the Colorado Court of Appeals this month ordered the Fountain Police Dept. to turn over  to ABC affiliate KRDO-TV a redacted disciplinary investigatory probe of a police officer who subsequently resigned.

As initially reported by the Website of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (www.rcfp.org), the appellate court declined former police officer Frank Romero's motion for a preliminary injunction, ruling that a "lengthy delay of the disclosure [of the report] may disserve the public interest." The television station initially sought a summary of the internal affairs inquiry through the Colorado Open Records Act [C.R.S. 24-72-201 to 24-72-309], but the court held the records at issue were covered under the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act [C.R.S. 24-72-301 et seq.].

The department's investigation recommended terminating Romero, but he resigned instead.  The officer was targeted by several women, who complained about his behavior toward them.  Romero fought the release of the internal affairs document on the grounds that it contained personal information that would irreparably injure him if it were released. The document at issue was redacted to protect the identity of the female complainant.