Opinion ID: 2052142
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Privilege of Neutral Reporting.

Text: Palmer asserts the news broadcast is protected by the constitutional defense of neutral reporting. If adopted, this constitutional privilege would grant the press absolute immunity from libel judgments for accurately reporting newsworthy statements, regardless of the press' belief about the truth of the statements. This would be an exception to the common-law rule that republication of a defamatory statement was subject to the same liability as the original statement. See Morse v. Times-Republican Printing Co., 124 Iowa 707, 717-18, 100 N.W. 867, 870-71 (1904). According to Palmer, this defense protects the news media from republication of libelous material so long as that material is newsworthy. Palmer's argument stems from Edwards v. National Audubon Society, Inc., 556 F.2d 113 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, sub. nom, Edwards v. New York Times, 434 U.S. 1002, 98 S.Ct. 647, 54 L.Ed.2d 498 (1977). In Edwards, an Audubon Society publication, American Birds, charged that scientists who claimed that the pesticide DDT did not appreciably harm bird life were either being paid to lie, or ... parroting something [they knew] little about. Id. at 117. This article did not name the challenged scientists. The New York Times considered the Audubon Society article to be a significant development in the nationwide debate over the use of DDT. The Times published an article reporting the claims in American Birds and named the five prominent scientists which were the target of the accusations. In dismissing a defamation action against the Audubon Society and the New York Times, the Second Circuit asserted that where a responsible, prominent organization made serious charges against a public figure, the first amendment protected the accurate and disinterested reporting of those charges. Id. at 120. The court went on to state that [w]hat is newsworthy about such accusations is that they were made, and that this privilege would not be defeated by deviations in the literal accuracy of the report. Id. Since the inception of a constitutional defense based on neutral reporting, this defense has been the subject of considerable debate. See generally Note, The Developing Privilege of Neutral Reportage, 69 Va.L.Rev. 853 (1983). The Supreme Court has not ruled on whether this defense has a constitutional basis. Since Edwards, federal courts have provided additional precision to the boundaries of this defense. First, this defense will only apply when the defamed person is a public figure or public official. See Cianci v. New Times Publishing Co., 639 F.2d 54, 67 (2d Cir.1980); Dixon v. Newsweek, Inc., 562 F.2d 626, 631 (10th Cir.1977). Further, the republication of defamatory statements must be neutral and accurate. See Cianci, 639 F.2d at 69-70; Price v. Viking Press, Inc., 625 F.Supp. 641, 649 (D.Minn.1985). Determining whether the republication is neutral and accurate requires careful examination of the facts on a case-by-case basis. See Price, 625 F.Supp. at 649. Many courts have declined to adopt the constitutional defense of neutral reporting. See generally Barry v. Time, Inc., 584 F.Supp. 1110, 1122-23 & n. 15 (N.D.Cal.1984). One rationale advanced for the rejection of this defense is that the newsworthiness element discussed in Edwards conflicts with the Supreme Court's rejection of a public interest test in Gertz. See, e.g., Dickey v. CBS, Inc., 583 F.2d 1221, 1226 n. 5 (3d Cir.1978); Newell v. Field Enter., Inc., 91 Ill.App.3d 735, 756-57, 47 Ill.Dec. 429, 446-47, 415 N.E.2d 434, 451-52 (1980). Another reason used to reject Edwards characterizes this defense as superfluous because the press is already adequately protected by the actual malice standard articulated in New York Times. See, e.g., Postill v. Booth Newspapers, Inc., 118 Mich.App. 608, 622, 325 N.W.2d 511, 517-18 (1982). Other cases have criticized the legal reasoning used in Edwards. See Dickey, 583 F.2d at 1225; see also Barry, 584 F.Supp. at 1123 n. 15. On the other hand, some courts have approved the defense of neutral reporting. See, Note, 69 Va.L.Rev. at 863-64. Some courts have favorably cited Edwards in support of a holding based primarily on a state common-law privilege of fair report. See, e.g., Medico v. Time, Inc., 643 F.2d 134, 145 (3d Cir.) (casting doubt on the continued viability of Dickey ), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 836, 102 S.Ct. 139, 70 L.Ed.2d 116 (1981); McCracken v. Gainesville Tribune, Inc., 146 Ga.App. 274, 276, 246 S.E.2d 360, 362 (1978); Krauss v. Champaign News Gazette, Inc., 59 Ill.App.3d 745, 748, 17 Ill.Dec. 78, 80, 375 N.E.2d 1362, 1364 (1978). The elements and policy considerations of the defense of neutral reporting are often very similar to the common-law privilege of fair report. Because of this close relationship, any discussion of a constitutional defense of neutral reporting should include consideration of the fair report privilege. In Iowa, the fair report privilege protected statements of opinion on public figures or matters of public interest, so long as such opinions were not malicious and were based on truth. See Note, 62 Iowa L.Rev. at 1073-74. Under this privilege, it was not a defense that the allegedly defamatory statements were simply republished from another publication. See Morse, 124 Iowa at 716-17, 100 N.W. at 870-71 (1904). In this opinion, we need not reach the ultimate question of whether the defense of neutral reporting should be adopted in Iowa or whether it would apply to a person in Jones' situation. Even if Jones were a public figure, the record in this case is insufficient to support a determination of whether the broadcast was a neutral and accurate republication.