Source: https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1010/public-figures-and-officials
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 22:16:09+00:00

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In libel cases, plaintiffs who are public figures or officials have to meet a more stringent standard (actual malice) than do private citizens (negligence) if they are to collect damages.
Thus, the status of a defamation plaintiff often affects the outcome of cases, as the courts balance the right of free press against an individual’s reputation. When it comes to printed defamation (libel), several court decisions have defined public figures, including government officials, as having the burden of proving that defendants libeled them with actual malice.
In New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964), a case involving an Alabama official’s attempt to collect for false statements published in a 1960 civil rights advertisement, the Supreme Court reversed the libel award because the plaintiff had not established that “actual malice” motivated the inaccurate descriptions.
In Rosenblatt v. Baer (1966), the Court elaborated that public officials include not just those in elected positions, but also people who work for elected officers. The Court extended the actual malice rule of Times v. Sullivan to public figures in Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts (1967) and Associated Press v. Walker (1967).
Although the Court made some rulings — notably Time, Inc. v. Hill (1967) and Rosenbloom v. Metromedia, Inc. (1971) — that did not protect private citizens from libel if the facts published were deemed newsworthy or of public interest, in the 1974 Gertz decision and in Time, Inc. v. Firestone (1976), it provided greater protection for individuals who had not voluntarily placed themselves in the public eye.
Unlike public figures, private individuals do not have to prove actual malice to win damages for libel.
More recently, “involuntary public figure” status has developed in lower court decisions, such as Dameron v. Washington Magazine (1985), which refers to someone involved in an event of overriding societal importance (in this case, an air traffic controller at the time of a major plane crash). Overall, though, private citizens have more protection from libel than do public figures and public officials.
Barendt, Eric M., Laurence Lustgarten, Kenneth Norrie, and Hugh Stephenson, eds. Libel and the Media: The Chilling Effect. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Bunker, Matthew D., and Charles D. Tobin. “Pervasive Public Figure Status and Local or Tropical Fame in Light of Evolving Media Audiences.” Journalism and Mass Communications Quarterly 75 (Spring 1998): 112–115.
Dill, Barbara, and Martin London. At What Price? Libel Law and Freedom of the Press. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1993.
Gilmor, Donald M. Power, Publicity, and the Abuse of Libel Law. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
MacKinnon, Catherine. Only Words. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1993.

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