Word: libeler
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...Reporting," says Philip Wittenberg, "is at best a dangerous job." No reporter himself, but a New York lawyer who frequently represents editors & publishers, Wittenberg came to this conclusion after four years' study of 4,000 libel suits. His Dangerous Words (Columbia University; $5), published this week, may keep some journalists from plunging over the libelous precipice, but is more likely to give them insomnia...
Where & When. Libel depends on the where & when of the words used. What was libelous years ago may not be libelous today, and vice versa. "In the days of the bustle and crinoline [a description or] picture of a woman . . . showing her legs naked to the thighs, shoulders bare above the breast, with a scanty midriff covering, would have been libelous," says Wittenberg. "Today, women of the best families .'. . are depicted daily and on Sundays . . . [thus] scantily clad...
Newshawks must be alert-as courts are-to the changing meanings of words. "Racket," which once meant a mere trick-and was not libelous-now means an illegal business-and may be. The greatest danger, Wittenberg points out, is that newspapers, with no ready means of checking many of the stories they print, must rely on the accuracy of the wire services and news syndicates. Yet in 47 states (only Florida excepted), newspapers cannot avoid libel suits by blaming news services for mistakes. Wittenberg thinks a change is due, along the lines of a 1932 Florida decision, which ruled that...
...Wittenberg gives short shrift to slovenly reporters who think that they protect themselves by adding "it is alleged" or "it is said" or by quoting anonymous "sources." The law: "Divorcing one's self from a story by attributing it to others is not ... a defense in libel." Authors who preface their novels with the stock disclaimer-"Any resemblance ... is purely coincidental"-are also kidding themselves. Even a novelist who invents a wholly imaginary character can be sued, if a real person proves that the public could reasonably assume that he was being described. Says Wittenberg: "The question...
Despite the manifold dangers he describes, Wittenberg emphasizes that they should hot frighten any newsman into doing less than his job. And he repeats what every good reporter knows: "The [provable] truth [in the U.S.] is ... an absolute defense to a civil action for libel...