-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/this_just_in/documents/02048
649.htm Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/this_just_in/documents /02048649.htm">This Just In | MEDIA</A> ----- MEDIA For Al Giordano, a victory and a precedent BY DAN KENNEDY In what could prove to be a groundbreaking First Amendment precedent, a New York judge has thrown out a libel suit against online journalist and Phoenix contributor Al Giordano, ruling that he is entitled to the same protection against such suits as a mainstream news organization. Giordano, the publisher and author of a Web site called the Narco News Bulletin (www.narconews.com), and Mexican journalist Mario Men�ndez had been sued by Roberto Hern�ndez, the head of the powerful bank Banamex. The reason: Men�ndez�s newspaper, Por Esto!, reported that Hern�ndez had purchased Banamex in part with profits from the illegal drug trade, an accusation that Giordano repeated in Narco News and at a public appearance at Columbia University (see " Don�t Quote Me, " News and Features, April 13). Giordano had also written about Banamex for the Phoenix (see " Clinton�s Mexican Narco-Pals, " News and Features, May 14, 1999). New York State Supreme Court judge Paula Omansky cited the 1964 case of Times v. Sullivan, in which the US Supreme Court held that a public figure cannot successfully sue for libel unless he or she can prove " actual malice " � a legal term that means the defendant must be shown to have knowingly disseminated false information, or to have demonstrated reckless disregard for whether the information was true or false. That " high standard, " as Omansky called it, has long been cited by free-speech activists as necessary to foster freewheeling and robust debate about public issues � in this case, the so-called War on Drugs. Omansky ruled that even though Banamex was a private institution, the War on Drugs was an issue of such public concern that Giordano was entitled to the protection of Times v. Sullivan. " The nature of the articles printed on the website and Mr. Giordano�s statements at Columbia University constitute matters of public concern because the information disseminated relates to the drug trade and its effect on people living in this hemisphere, " she wrote, according to a report by Wired.com. Giordano�s lawyer, Tom Lesser, says that the judge also threw out the complaint against Men�ndez, ruling that her court had no jurisdiction over a newspaper published in Mexico. Calling it " extraordinary " that Omansky would reject Banamex�s suit even before the discovery phase of the case could begin, the Northampton-based Lesser � an old friend of Giordano�s dating back to the latter�s days as an anti-nuclear activist in the 1970s � told the Phoenix that a countersuit against Banamex is being considered. " I think the expectation is that we�ll try to recoup the damages that we have suffered, " he says. But Banamex lawyer Michael Madigan, of the Washington firm of Akin Gump, says Hern�ndez continues to insist that Men�ndez and Giordano�s charges are false � and he refuses to rule out an appeal of Omansky�s decision. " The only thing I can tell you at the moment is that the matter is under review, " Madigan told the Phoenix. " Banamex will continue to take any lawful action to protect itself from false and libelous statements. " Meanwhile, media observers and First Amendment advocates are hailing Giordano�s victory. " Al Giordano has always fancied himself a dragon-slayer, and now he�s got a few more dragons on his belt, " says Danny Schechter, executive editor of MediaChannel.org, which has carried some of Giordano�s work. " I�m encouraged not just by the outcome of the case, but by the example of the case. " Paul McMasters, First Amendment ombudsman for the Freedom Forum, says what�s most heartening is that Judge Omansky recognized that the Constitution does not specify who may � and who may not � be a journalist. " Because the First Amendment prohibits the definition of a journalist, just about anybody with a Web site, it seems to me, can define themselves as a journalist entitled to the protection of Times v. Sullivan. And that, to me, is a good thing, " McMasters says. In an e-mail to the Phoenix from Bolivia, where he is reporting this week, Giordano � noting that his problems with Banamex began with his May 1999 Phoenix story � said in part, " The story was airtight, factual and fair then, and it has remained so ever since.... It�s a great victory and one to be shared by so many journalists and readers. On to the next one! " Issue Date: December 12, 2001 Back to the News and Features table of contents. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ home | feedback | about the phoenix | find the phoenix | advertising info | privacy policy � 2001 Phoenix Media Communications Group ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, All My Relations. Omnia Bona Bonis, Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. 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