by: Beth Farnsworth | KEYT

SANTA BARBARA - (AP) The Associated Press is reporting that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has sided with the Santa Barbara News-Press in a long-running dispute between the paper and reporters fired in 2006.

The Court ruled the newspaper was protected by the First Amendment when it dismissed eight reporters and disciplined others after the employees complained about the paper's editorial practices. Owner Wendy McCaw was also accused of interfering with news coverage.