From Walter Cronkite to Tucker Carlson. And Dominion v. Fox News.

The history of defamation suits against journalists is quite colorful. More than mere legal standards of proof for litigants, it goes to the core of our country's liberty and freedom of the press.

In this episode, Dr. Aimee Edmondson explains how the US Supreme Court's Sullivan decision in 1964 liberated journalists to do their jobs. She is a professor in media law and journalism history with a particular focus on civil-rights-related libel law, and, lucky for us, is the author of In Sullivan’s Shadow, The Use and Abuse of Libel Law During the Long Civil Rights Struggle, which we discuss in this episode.

With respect to defamation law, back in March, our former Attorney General, Mr. Bill Barr, published an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, "Dominion's Weak Case Against Fox", in which he offered three legal defenses that Fox News could have used (had the case gone to trial) against Dominion's defamation suit. Although we don't get into Mr. Barr's article in detail, Dr. Edmondson discusses the history of defamation law in parallel to the legal defenses Mr. Barr proposed for Fox News.
In addition to discussing defamation law and its history in the context of journalism, she brings focus to something that most of us, more or less, tend to gloss over - the difference between journalism and news media. They could be the same. But often are not!
Dr. Edmondson believes that we must provide media literacy classes in our schools - similar to civic classes we had back in high school (or was it junior high?). Although I wholeheartedly agree with her, I just don't think polarized parents will ever agree to such a class in their kids' schools! She also believes in truth-telling in journalism. This is important to her. In fact, it's so important that she has taught classes and held workshops about it not only in the U.S., but also in many other countries, some of which may surprise you. In this episode, we'll talk about what she told foreign journalists and students of journalism about news in America, and what she can tell us Americans about journalism and news in those other countries.

Dr. Edmondson teaches data journalism using the techniques of Investigative Reporters and Editors. She is the Director for Graduate Studies at E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, and also the Acting Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, Research and Creative Activity at Scripps College of Communication. To learn more about Dr. Edmondson, please visit her ⁠⁠⁠⁠academic⁠ homepage.

In addition, below are links to other podcast conversations about protests and revolutions:

S2E18: ⁠⁠⁠DeSantis v. Disney & Florida's History⁠⁠⁠, Dr. James ClarkHow special is Disney's special district status in Florida? And is DeSantis the South's most powerful governor since the Civil War?

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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