Welcome to Journalism 101, class.
Today’s lessons come from the court ruling in Sandmann v. Washington Post on July 26, when a federal judge dismissed a young man’s libel claim against a big newspaper. As a journalism professor and author on libel, I see important principles in the Sandmann case:
Truth seeking is the primary mission of journalism
News reporting inspires debate. When reporting veers to malicious falsehood, that’s libel. Reporting controversy does not constitute libel.
Cincinnati Inquirer/USA Today Network
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/2019/08/04/opinion-sandmann-v-washington-post-discomfort-not-libel/1865903001/