Comments on: The end of libel http://www.buzzmachine.com/2005/09/29/the-end-of-libel/ by Jeff Jarvis Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:21:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: BuzzMachine » Blog Archive » The cost of speech http://www.buzzmachine.com/2005/09/29/the-end-of-libel/#comment-33927 BuzzMachine » Blog Archive » The cost of speech Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:34:21 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/index.php/2005/09/29/the-end-of-libel/#comment-33927 [...] I say we need libels laws less today. Law professor and blogger Susan Crawford once suggested over coffee (and I hope she doesn’t mind my continued quoting of this) that libel laws are out-of-date in a time when the victims of defamation have the means of response via the internet that they never had in print or broadcast. Keep in mind that in America, where we treasure free speech to an admirable and fanatical degree — the FCC and its indecency policing excepted — we are luckier than most. It is harder to bring a successful libel action here. And Section 230 protects hosts of interactivity from actions against them as a result of content put on their services by others. Britain and other nations aren’t so lucky. [...] [...] I say we need libels laws less today. Law professor and blogger Susan Crawford once suggested over coffee (and I hope she doesn’t mind my continued quoting of this) that libel laws are out-of-date in a time when the victims of defamation have the means of response via the internet that they never had in print or broadcast. Keep in mind that in America, where we treasure free speech to an admirable and fanatical degree — the FCC and its indecency policing excepted — we are luckier than most. It is harder to bring a successful libel action here. And Section 230 protects hosts of interactivity from actions against them as a result of content put on their services by others. Britain and other nations aren’t so lucky. [...]

]]> By: Seth Finkelstein http://www.buzzmachine.com/2005/09/29/the-end-of-libel/#comment-8147 Seth Finkelstein Thu, 29 Sep 2005 21:15:09 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/index.php/2005/09/29/the-end-of-libel/#comment-8147 "She said the internet enables people to respond to libel in a way that was not possible before, when access to the press or the tower was essential to right a wrong." Putting aside the question of whether that's an accurate gloss, the idea is both mathematically false and very, very, cruel. There are vast, enormous, disparities of audience between sites, and an ordinary blogger simply cannot hope to have the access to oppose being libeled by an A-lister. Now, there is a set of stock replies, that maybe the libel doesn't hurt, maybe the audience is not important. etc. etc. But if one does care about being libeled - if the libel <em>hurts</em>, if the audience <em>does matter</em> - then the net is simply one more press ecology, with both sharks and minnows. Sure, one can sometimes get the help of powerful allies, or enemies-of-my-enemy. But that's not any sort of deep change at all, just the same old game. I was "there" when the above net-changes-libel evangelism was put forward <em>a decade ago</em>. It's not new. And it's not true. “She said the internet enables people to respond to libel in a way that was not possible before, when access to the press or the tower was essential to right a wrong.”

Putting aside the question of whether that’s an accurate gloss, the idea is both mathematically false and very, very, cruel. There are vast, enormous, disparities of audience between sites, and an ordinary blogger simply cannot hope to have the access to oppose being libeled by an A-lister. Now, there is a set of stock replies, that maybe the libel doesn’t hurt, maybe the audience is not important. etc. etc.

But if one does care about being libeled – if the libel hurts, if the audience does matter – then the net is simply one more press ecology, with both sharks and minnows. Sure, one can sometimes get the help of powerful allies, or enemies-of-my-enemy. But that’s not any sort of deep change at all, just the same old game.

I was “there” when the above net-changes-libel evangelism was put forward a decade ago. It’s not new. And it’s not true.

]]> By: Grace http://www.buzzmachine.com/2005/09/29/the-end-of-libel/#comment-8074 Grace Thu, 29 Sep 2005 15:17:02 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/index.php/2005/09/29/the-end-of-libel/#comment-8074 I find this very interesting, in fact this is the reason I think that news should not be so conversational. With this migration to the world of blogs we are sacrificing ethics and credibility. In yesteryear, we would be required to submit our stories to editors prior to them being published, not just for grammer and spelling but for the bigger issue: protecting the paper's name. It is highly unlikely that you would have witnessed any intentional libel in the Washingotn Post. As a media society I think it is extremely important not to through caution to the wind and say to hell with media ethics and to hell with our credibility. Aren't we supposed to be reporting UNBIASED news? There are enough other ways to let the world know that some of our American icons are bumbling idiots, why do we have to taint a system that has worked so well for so long? I find this very interesting, in fact this is the reason I think that news should not be so conversational. With this migration to the world of blogs we are sacrificing ethics and credibility. In yesteryear, we would be required to submit our stories to editors prior to them being published, not just for grammer and spelling but for the bigger issue: protecting the paper’s name. It is highly unlikely that you would have witnessed any intentional libel in the Washingotn Post. As a media society I think it is extremely important not to through caution to the wind and say to hell with media ethics and to hell with our credibility. Aren’t we supposed to be reporting UNBIASED news? There are enough other ways to let the world know that some of our American icons are bumbling idiots, why do we have to taint a system that has worked so well for so long?

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