By: (AP) The media have no absolute constitutional protection when reporting defamatory comments made by reputable public figures, even when describing the comments in a neutral way, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled.
Affirming an appeals court decision, the justices on Wednesday granted a new trial to two Parkesburg officials who had sued over a 1995 article in the Daily Local News in West Chester.
According to the article, borough Councilman William T. Glenn Sr. issued a statement "strongly implying" that he considered council president James B. Norton III and Mayor Alan M. Wolfe to be "queers and child molesters," the court said in its decision.
A jury ordered Glenn to pay the two men $17,500 in damages but found that reporter Tom Kennedy, then-editor William Caufield and newspaper owner Troy Publishing Co. were not liable, partly because of the trial judge's instruction on the so-called neutral reportage privilege.
That privilege, recognized by some state and federal courts, lets the press convey a reputable public figure's defamatory comment as long as it is reported neutrally and accurately.
An appeals court found in 2002 that no law nor the state or U.S. constitutions extended such a privilege. The state high court agreed.
Daily Local News Publisher Edward S. Condra said the paper has not decided whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court but said he "wholeheartedly" disagreed with Wednesday's ruling.
"As far as I'm concerned, the public should be able to learn as much as possible about our elected officials and what they have to say about one another," Condra said.
Norton's lawyer, Geoffrey R. Johnson, said the paper failed to put Glenn's comments in the proper context. He said the reporter "admitted he knew these statements were false" and left out "significant information" about Glenn's behavior.
The decision could make it more difficult for reporters to cover political campaigns where charges and countercharges are commonplace, said Teri Henning, counsel for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.
"Every political campaign is full of these kinds of issues. And how do you now report on accusations made by one candidate or the other without really being concerned about liability?" she said.
Wolfe's attorney did not return a phone message seeking comment.
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