"The Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeals has ruled that bloggers enjoy the same journalistic protections as traditional print and broadcast media when commenting on matters of public concern. Financial blogger Crystal Cox now won’t have to pay a $2.5 million jury award to an Oregon attorney and his financial services firm, whom she had accused of fraud and money laundering. Why does this First Amendment victory for a finance blogger matter to the future of the Second Amendment? . . ."
".. up until nowthere was no clear rule on which legal standard should apply when bloggers and other new media were sued for vague ‘presumed damages’ for defamation."
"The 9th Circuit ruled that bloggers are treated as full journalists for purposes of defamation laws."
"she should have been treated just like any other journalist. Journalists cannot be liable for defamation unless the plaintiff proves that they acted with negligence when speaking about a private figure, or with malice when speaking about a public figure.
This case makes it clear that when bloggers like TTAG report on matters of public concern like gun control, they can’t be silenced by lawsuits from pissed-off plaintiffs unless they prove the bloggers were more than just wrong."
"It’s a good thing that we’ll be treated the same from here on out."
Source and Full Article
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/01/chris-dumm/ninth-circuit-affirms-bloggers-journalists-matters/
Liberty and Justice for All
Una Stamus