Looking for Help for Class Project - Need Expert Advice

[BritaNelson]

Hello,
I'm a master's student in digital audience strategy at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and I'm working on a project for my Media Law class about the differences in libel law between the U.S. and the U.K. I'm hoping someone here can help give me some insight into libel law and who is willing to chat with or email with me about the topic so I can learn from them and cite them as an expert. If you're an expert in US law only or UK only, that's okay. I think you'd have a valuable perspective. I look forward to hearing from someone. Thank you!

[adjusterjack]

We don't do homework.

You would think that somebody who has gotten as far as taking a master's degree would have learned basic research by now.

Have you done any basic research on the topic? Or did you just get the assignment and you want somebody to give you all the answers from scratch?

[Taxing Matters]

In the U.S. libel and slander are both forms of defamation. Defamation law in the U.S. is state law and the details therefore vary a bit by state. Only a few states still have any criminal defamation laws on the books, and even in those that have them defamation is pretty much never prosecuted as a crime. Instead, defamation is a type of tort claim for which the defamed person may sue for an injunction to stop the defendant from further spreading the defamatory claims and sue for money damages for the harm done to his/her reputation. The basic definition of defamation in the U.S. is that the defendant communicated a false statement of fact about the plaintiff to another person and as a result damaged the plaintiff's reputation. Thus, statements of fact that are true are not defamatory no matter how negative they may be. Nor are statements that are purely opinion defamatory either.

The U.S. protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press in the First Amendment of the Constitution, and that restricts defamation in the U.S. The Supreme Court has held that for a public figure (e.g. elected official, celebrity, etc) to successfully sue for defamation the plaintiff must show that the defendant acted with malice and reckless disregard for the truth. This makes it much harder for the public figure to succeed in a defamation claim in the U.S.

There are a lot more details on defamation in the U.S. and it'll vary a bit by state but the above provides a brief overview. You'd likely want to focus your inquiry on the law of a particular state to if you need to make detailed comparisons.

[pg1067]

Libel is the written version of defamation (slander being the spoken version). Defamation laws vary slightly between the 50 United States, but the gist is a false statement of fact that is published (i.e., made or conveyed) to at least one person other than the subject of the statement, which is injurious to the subject's reputation, which is made with the required degree of fault regarding truth or falsity, and, in most cases, which results in actual monetary damages. There are a number of possible defenses to a defamation claim.

I have no idea about UK defamation law.

I suggest that you go through the faculty list at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at ASU, find one who has expertise in the area of defamation, and see if you can schedule a conference to discuss your assignment. Alternatively, visit the College of Law's library and ask a librarian to help you find a treatise on defamation law.

We don't do homework.

The OP didn't ask us to do homework for him/her.

You would think that somebody who has gotten as far as taking a master's degree would have learned basic research by now.

Do you think seeking out a consultation with an expert is not a form of research?

did you just get the assignment and you want somebody to give you all the answers from scratch?

There's nothing in the original post that warrants this sort of response. If you don't have anything to offer, you're free not to respond.