Discuss below in a 500 words:
Discussion 1:
After reading the Mass Media Law and Errors Cast Doubt on a Baseball Memoir answer the following questions:
? Identify the one best proof of fault you believe plaintiffs can make in this case?
? What is the one best defense you believe the author has for the memoir?
? Do you believe that Matt McCarthy committed libel or defamation in the publication of Odd Man Out? Why or why not?
Discussion 2:
After an unusual but heavy snowstorm hit Portland, Oregon in December and paralyzed the city for several days, citizens and the press alike criticized the city's public works department for the failure to keep the roads clear. The Portland Patriot was especially vigorous in its condemnation. Here is part of one editorial that appeared in the local paper:
"Here it is the 21st Century and the city's road crews can't even handle a simple snowstorm. How many dollars were lost by businesses because customers couldn't get downtown? How many cars were damaged and pedestrians injured because of the slippery roads and sidewalks? And how many members of the road crews sat on their duffs, in cafes, drinking coffee and eating donuts, while their plows were parked for long periods on the streets outside, while the rest of us struggled to go on with life? Their actions were criminal, causing untold harm to hundreds of people. Supervisors reported all crews were working 16 hours a day. But there is ample evidence that many of these workers simply sat on the sidelines, waiting for the snow and ice to melt. It is time to take action against these incompetent clods; fire the whole bunch, Portland!"
Eighty-seven workers were employed by the city to remove the ice and snow. Seven of them file a libel suit against the Patriot. They argue that the charges that their behavior was criminal, that they drank coffee and ate donuts rather than do their jobs, and that they are incompetent, are defamatory.
The Patriot raises two arguments in its defense. First, it argues that the city workers are public officials and will have to show evidence of actual malice to prevail. Also, the Patriot argues that the group of 87 is too large; that individual members of the group cannot prove identification.
Response the following questions:
? How would a court rule on the Patriot's arguments in its defense?
? What would be the basis for the court's rulings?