PGage, upthread: "I am currently engaged in a conflict with my employer that was covered in a few media outlets (the case is trivial for almost everyone, but pretty major to the parties involved). In one of the published stories a claim was made about me that was patently false and potentially damaging. I was irritated for a day or two, but would never have considered suing the paper; I realize that a free press, even one that makes mistakes through carelessness, or even motivated by interest, is better for me as a citizen than punishing every mistake or error of fact or judgement."
What would have happened if an attorney contacted PGage the next day, being sympathetic, perhaps mentioning that others have also been hurt by the same paper, and offering to take the case on a contingency basis? Maybe P would decline because of the chilling effect he mentions above. Maybe he'd ask the lawyer about her involvement, and maybe find out that someone else is paying to go after the paper. Or maybe he'd be willing to sue the bastards. (To be clear, I'm not questioning anything PGage said. This is just a handy hypothetical.) Every news outlet makes mistakes. Most of those errors are trivial, but even then, someone who really wants to go after the outlet can try. And even if they just generate a bunch of nuisance suits, the outlet still has to devote resources to defending itself, especially if their opponent isn't interested in settling for apologies or any other sort of compromise. And if a jury is convinced that the damage is non-trivial, the results can be devastating, regardless of whether you think the outlet deserves to be devastated. -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
