Opinion ID: 1505898
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Too Dangerous Statement

Text: In WHAS-TV's first broadcast concerning the Starchaser ride on July 27, 1994, reporter Lisa Kiava interviewed a Kentucky Kingdom patron who stated, I mean everybody should know about it, how dangerous this ride is. It should be closed down, forever, I think. Kiava then said, State inspectors also think the ride is too dangerous. The record easily establishes that this statement, the Too Dangerous Statement, was false. Kiava testified that she got the statement from producer Kelly Dearing-Smith who told her that she had spoken to state ride inspectors at the Department of Agriculture and the inspectors had told Dearing-Smith that the Starchaser ride was too dangerous. However, Dearing-Smith testified that she did not know the source of this information. Roger Nesbitt, the Communications Director of the Department of Agriculture testified that he had no knowledge of any ride inspector making the Too Dangerous Statement. In addition, Carl Dills, the State of Kentucky's chief ride inspector testified that he did not tell anyone from WHAS-TV that this ride was too dangerous and further stated that he had no knowledge of anyone from the Department of Agriculture saying that the ride was too dangerous. In fact, Dills testified that he rode the ride all the time myself. And finally, WHAS-TV's corporate representative at trial testified that the Too Dangerous Statement was inaccurate and that he believed a retraction should have been issued. After reviewing the record, I also believe that the circumstantial evidence demonstrated that there was clear and convincing evidence of actual malice. The evidence described above establishes that (i) no one at WHAS-TV claimed to have spoken to any state inspector that made a statement that resembled the Too Dangerous Statement; (ii) the Department of Agriculture had no knowledge of anyone making such a statement; and (iii) WHAS-TV's corporate representative admitted that the statement was inaccurate and should have been retracted. In addition, WHAS-TV's actions after the July 27, 1994 telecast demonstrate at least a reckless disregard of the truth. Roger Nesbitt called WHAS-TV on July 29, 2004 and spoke to Dearing-Smith about the July 27, 1994 telecast. On that day, Dearing Smith flagged the script surrounding the Too Dangerous Statement. Dearing also prepared an internal memorandum that was introduced at trial. It states: TO: NICK FROM: KELLEY DEARING RE: KENTUCKY KINGDOM PHONECALL I HAPPENED TO PICK UP A CALL FOR LISA KIAVA SEVERAL DAYS AFTER THE KENTUCKY KINGDOM ACCIDENT. WHEN I TOLD THE CALLER LISA WAS NOT HERE TODAY AND ASKED IF I COULD HELP, HE IDENTIFIED HIMSELF AS BEING WITH THE STATE DEPARTMENT THAT INSPECTS RIDES. I CANNOT REMEMBER HIS NAME. HE SAID HE WAS CALLING WITH A CONCERN OVER A STORY WE RAN ON THE ACCIDENT. HE SAID SOMEONE WITH KENTUCKY KINGDOM HAD CALLED HIM. HE SAID WE HAD REPORTED THAT STATE INSPECTORS SAID THE RIDE HAD MALFUNCTIONED. HE WENT ON TO SAY THAT STATE INSPECTORS HAD NOT SAID THAT  AND HE WANTED TO KNOW WHO WE HAD SPOKE WITH. AT THIS POINT  I TOLD HIM I WOULD TRY TO GET TO THE END OF THE PROBLEM. I LEFT A MESSAGE ON LISA KIAVA'S ANSWERING MACHINE, EXPLAINING THE NATURE OF THE CALL. AFTER THE CALL, I WENT INTO THE ARCHIVE SCRIPT TO LISA'S STORY AND PUT A NOTATION IN THE SCRIPT THAT SAID DO NOT REPORT, ACCURATE? ? ? TO LET OTHERS LOOKING FOR FILE INFORMATION NOT REPEAT THE SAME WORDING UNTIL THIS PROBLEM WAS SOLVED. THANKS. KELLEY DEARING Dearing-Smith testified that the source for the Too Dangerous Statement was never verified. Instead of making inquiry into this issue, WHAS-TV ran the Too Dangerous Statement the next day. In addition, from May 19, 1996 through May 22, 1996, WHAS-TV aired a four part series of investigative reports from reporter Doug Proffitt about the Starchaser accident. At the end of each of these lengthy segments, Proffitt read a statement that noted Kentucky Kingdom had filed a lawsuit about the 1994 telecasts and then he stated that the 1994 stories were true. Proffitt testified that he had not seen the original stories and the executive news director had prepared the statement. After conducting the independent review that is mandated by Bose, I conclude that the clear and convincing evidence established that the Too Dangerous Statement was made with actual malice because the evidence shows that the statement was made with the knowledge that it was false or with the reckless disregard of whether it was false or not. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 279-80, 84 S.Ct. 710, 726, 11 L.Ed.2d 686 (1964).