JOURNALIST SUES FLORIDA'S WEEKLY PLANET

By: Staff reports Emerson Says He Was Defamed



The Tampa Tribune reported Thursday that a Washington journalist
has sued the Weekly Planet, an alternative newspaper, for
defamation.



Steven Emerson, producer of a TV documentary on the Islamic Jihad, is
seeking $33 million in damages from the Planet, Editor John Sugg,
and former Associated Press reporter Richard Cole.



Sugg has written stories questioning Emerson's stories. Emerson was a
source for Tampa Tribune stories on alleged terrorist ties to a
think tank that works with some University of South Florida employees,
the Tribune said.