Is “Actual Malice” Really Not an Insurmountable Hurdle? Published May 2023 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications This column has repeatedly discussed the numerous attacks on the landmark New York Times v. Sullivan precedent and the “actual malice” standard that it added to American libel...
Even if Public Records Are Wrong, Accurately Reporting Them is Protected
Even if Public Records Are Wrong, Accurately Reporting Them is Protected Published April 2023 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications The “fair report” privilege is a legal doctrine accepted in South Carolina and most other states which provides that a publisher is not liable for...
S.C. media and First Amendment advocates must remain vigilant as new ‘hurricane’ brews in Florida
S.C. media and First Amendment advocates must remain vigilant as new 'hurricane' brews in Florida Published March 2023 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications In 2022, Hurricane Ian barreled across Florida, causing widespread damage and becoming the deadliest hurricane to strike Florida since 1935. Ian...
Managing and Covering the Murdaugh Case and Other “Trials of the Century”
Managing and Covering the Murdaugh Case and Other “Trials of the Century” Published Feb. 2023 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications Although it is common to call a high-profile trial “the trial of the century,” it is a misnomer; there have been several such trials...
Suing the Media for Revenge and Profit
Suing the Media for Revenge and Profit Published Jan. 2023 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications In his new bestselling book and slew of media interviews promoting it, Prince Harry rails against the British media and their alleged collaborators within the British Monarchy, blaming them...
Old videotape law presents new legal challenge to news websites
Old videotape law presents new legal challenge to news websites Published December 2022 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications An enterprising law firm in New York City is soliciting for plaintiffs to sue various newspapers whose websites allegedly include a “pixel” from Meta Platforms Inc.—the...
Does the reporters’ shield survive death? And another way to foil FOIA
Does the reporters’ shield survive death? And another way to foil FOIA Published November 2022 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications The murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German—for which a former local official who lost his reelection bid and was then removed...
Libel without a name?
Libel without a name? Published October 2022 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications A parent’s apparently false allegation at a public November school board meeting that an administrator in Richland County School District Two had strip searched his daughter led to a defamation lawsuit against...
The Royals and the Press
The Royals and the Press Published September 2022 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications The death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II after a reign of more than 70 years has prompted a cascade of retrospectives and reminiscences of the major events and changes of the...
Trial Gag Orders Are No Laughing Matter
Trial gag orders are no laughing matter Published August 2022 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications South Carolina Circuit Judge Clifton Newman was praised (here and here, for example) in early August when he rejected requests for gag orders from both the prosecution and the...
Abortion Ruling Could Impact Media Law
Abortion Ruling Could Impact Media Law Published July 2022 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications We have already seen some of the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent blockbuster decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which reversed its 49-year-old Roe v. Wade...
South Carolina needs a good SLAPP law
South Carolina needs a good SLAPP law Published June 2022 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications In late May, the Judiciary Committee of the North Carolina State Assembly approved a legislative bill, which would allow for early dismissal of lawsuits making libel or other claims...
S.C. police agencies should follow FOIA law
S.C. police agencies should follow FOIA law Published May 2022 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications A “possibly gang-related” shooting in a Greenville middle school. Records from the 2009 disappearance of a high school student in Myrtle Beach. And the notorious murder of Maggie and...
Lawsuit Settlement Will Loosen Ethics Confidentiality
Lawsuit Settlement Will Loosen Ethics Confidentiality Published April 2022 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications Just as the media have investigated and disclosed numerous examples of apparent conflicts of interest and corruption in state and local government here in South Carolina, a pending settlement of...
Publication of Murdaugh Phone Call Recordings Raises Legal Issues
Publication of Murdaugh Phone Call Recordings Raises Legal Issues Published March 2022 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act provides that state agencies must provide public records, within certain parameters and exceptions, to the public upon request. It also defines...
$50 Million Verdict in South Carolina Libel Case Is an Outlier, Not an Omen
$50 Million Verdict in South Carolina Libel Case Is an Outlier, Not an Omen Published Feb. 2021 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications There is a saying among lawyers that “bad facts make bad law,” meaning that cases in which the litigants (and/or perhaps lawyers)...
2021 Was a Record Year in U.S. Press Freedom, But Not in a Good Way
2021 was another record year in U.S. Press Freedom, but not in a good way Published Jan. 2022 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications The language of the First Amendment regarding freedom of speech and the press seems pretty absolute: “Congress shall make no law...
Antitrust Clouds—and Lawsuits—Gather Against Big Tech
Antitrust Clouds—and Lawsuits—Gather Against Big Tech Published Dec. 2021 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications What started as a West Virginia publisher’s quixotic quest has become a major lawsuit, brought on behalf of more than 200 individual newspapers, to challenge the uncompensated use of newspapers’...
Holy Cow!: Troubling Appeals Court Ruling Holds that Tweet Link May Be Libel, Though the Linked Article Is Not
Holy Cow!: Troubling Appeals Court Ruling Holds that Tweet Link May Be Libel, Though the Linked Article Is Not Published Oct. 2021 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications You may have noticed that California Congressman Devin Nunes is in the news. If you’re interested in...
SOS for South Carolina’s FOIA
SOS for South Carolina’s FOIA Published Sept. 2021 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications In the past several weeks and months we have seen numerous examples of local and state government boards and agencies refusing to comply with South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act. These...
Embedded Graphics May Lead to Copyright Troubles
Embedded Graphics May Lead to Copyright Troubles Published Aug. 2021 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications Hopefully most reporters, layout artists, and web designers at media companies understand that they can’t simply copy a photo or other illustration they find online and use it in...
Media Law Then and Now: In Recognition of Bill Rogers’ Retirement
Media Law Then and Now: In Recognition of Bill Rogers’ Retirement Published July 2021 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications Each month in this column, I attempt to highlight a recent development in media law, either in South Carolina or nationally, that may have an...
Government Accessing Electronic Communications to Identify Sources: It Can Happen to You
Government Accessing Electronic Communications to Identify Sources: It Can Happen to You Published June 2021 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications The revelations that the U.S. Justice Department secretly sought information on reporters’ e-mail, phone and other communications has sent shock waves through media and...
Study Shows Increasing U.S. Supreme Court Skepticism of the Press
Study Shows Increasing U.S. Supreme Court Skepticism of the Press Published May 2021 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications Despite avowed threats to media freedom in recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts have showed general fealty to the landmark New York Times...
Chauvin Trial Shows Importance of Court Access
Chauvin Trial Shows Importance of Court Access Published April 2021 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications There has been a lot of attention focused on the ongoing trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. Occurring in the context of...
“The Right to Be Forgotten” Washes Ashore in the U.S.
“The Right to Be Forgotten” Washes Ashore in the U.S. Published March 2021 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications We all make mistakes, take foolish actions, and say stupid things. Most of the time, these errors in judgment are ephemeral: we deal with the consequences—or...
New Administration Means Changes on Press Issues
New Administration Means Changes on Press Issues Published Feb. 2021 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications Any change in presidential administrations, especially when it involves a change of party affiliation, means changes in a lot of federal government personnel, stances on issues and policy changes....
Free Speech Issues Abound After Capitol Hill Riot
Free Speech Issues Abound After Capitol Hill Riot Published January 2021 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications The riot at the Capitol building on Jan. 6 and its aftermath have raised several serious concerns about American politics and society. These events also raise several questions...
If Tech Hurts Newspapers, Can Tech Save Them?
If Tech Hurts Newspapers, Can Tech Save Them? Published December 2020 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications One of the many developments that have hurt newspapers is tech companies and their websites that collect and display headlines and story ledes from websites of newspapers and...
Music Awards Dispute Shows Dilemma of Photo Coverage of Concerts and Other Events
Music Awards Dispute Shows Dilemma of Photo Coverage of Concerts and Other Events Published November 2020 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications In-mid November, the Associated Press declined to cover the Country Music Association Awards after the organizers attempted to place severe limits on the...
Lessons Not Learned
Lessons Not Learned Published October 2020 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications Within the past few weeks, there have been a number of examples of government bodies and officials ignoring the open records and open meeting requirements of South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act, and...
Protect Sources by Not Showing Them?
Protect Sources by Not Showing Them? Published Sept. 2020 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications The past several months of protests in reaction to police shootings have raised several First Amendment issues, including police and protestors physically attacking journalists, police detaining and arresting reporters, and...
Seattle Subpoena Fight Is First Amendment Dilemma
Seattle Subpoena Fight Is First Amendment Dilemma Published August 2020 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications The protests and riots in cities across the country after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis raised many questions about race, justice and free speech. But developments...
Trump Hits the Wall of Courts’ Prior Restraint Precedents
Trump Hits the Wall of Courts' Prior Restraint Precedents Published July 13, 2020 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications President Trump’s campaign and family have both tried in recent weeks—and earlier in his presidency—to stop publication of books and other things that may be uncomfortable...
Protests, Free Speech and Press Freedom
Protests, Free Speech and Press Freedom Published June 16, 2020 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications The past few weeks have been tumultuous and tragic, with an ongoing pandemic, large (peaceful) protests against police misconduct and riots in some places that involved destruction of property...
Patient Privacy in the Time of Coronavirus: The Limits of HIPAA
Patient Privacy in the Time of Coronavirus: The Limits of HIPAA Published May 19, 2020 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications Covid-19 has of course dominated the media for more than two months, with exhaustive coverage of the pandemic, the shutdown of much ordinary activities,...
Is There a Legal Remedy for Coronavirus “Fake News”?
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications President Trump, various federal officials and several governors have been criticized for initially failing to acknowledge the threat posed by the coronavirus and by doing so leading some to a false sense of complacency and that the threat was...
If this Headline Catches Your Attention, Can it be Libel?
If this Headline Catches Your Attention, Can it be Libel? Published March 2020 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications A news headline – whether on the printed page or online – is meant to draw attention to the article that follows. It is a short,...
Sealed Mulvaney case shows rules for sealing court documents
Sealed Mulvaney case shows rules for sealing court documents Published February 2020 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications On the surface, a legal case with an appeal currently pending before the South Carolina Court of Appeals looks like a technical business case resulting from a...
In Test of Revised FOIA, Judge Rules Against Last-Minute Agenda Additions
In test of revised FOIA, judge rules against last-minute agenda additions Published Jan. 2020 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications A recent common pleas court decision appears to be the first application of recent changes to South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Law, and requirements for public...
Tales of FOIA and Secrets, Then and Now
Tales of FOIA and Secrets, Then and Now Published December 2019 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications The Pentagon Papers case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Nixon administration’s attempt to bar publication of a detailed history of American involvement in southeast Asia...
South Carolina Appeals Court Ruling Outlines Libel Law Principles
South Carolina Appeals Court Ruling Outlines Libel Law Principles Published Nov. 2019 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications On Nov. 6, a three-judge panel of the South Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of summary judgment to the former owner of the Charleston City...
October Media Law Updates
Media Law Updates: ADA Suit Against S.C. Newspaper; FCC Net Neutrality Repeal Upheld, While Repeal of Cross-Ownership Ban Vacated Published Oct. 16, 2019 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications ADA Lawsuit Over South Carolina Newspaper’s Web Site: In August I wrote about the question of...
Are Newspaper Carriers Employees or Independent Contractors?
Are Newspaper Carriers Employees or Independent Contractors? Published Sept. 18, 2018 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications While many newspapers’ circulations—in the form of physical papers delivered to homes and offices—have declined in recent years, the carriers who deliver the physical newspapers continue to be...
Does your website violate the law?
Does your website violate the law? Published August 2019 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications When signing the Americans with Disability Act in late July 1990, President George H.W. Bush said that under the law “every man, woman, and child with a disability can now...
Words and Deeds
Words and Deeds Published July 2019 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications In 2017, when signing a law to strengthen the state’s Freedom of Information Act, Governor McMaster said that “[g]overnment has to be accountable to the people it serves, and its citizens should have...
Can anti-trust law save newspapers?
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | Federal and state anti-trust laws date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, way before the emergence of the modern internet-fueled economy. But increasingly these old laws and concepts are being seen as the means of limiting...
A newsrack, a judge, and the First Amendment
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | Last week, during jury selection for trial of Timothy Jones, who is accused of killing his five children in Lexington County and dumping their bodies in Alabama in 2014, presiding judge Eugene Griffith Jr. ordered the removal of...
Cut out the attacks on the press
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | There was widespread condemnation when Hope Carpenter returned on March 31 to the Greenville church that she and her husband Ron founded in 1991 and expressed her support for the church’s new leaders, John and Aventer Gray.
Does South Carolina’s FOIA end at the border?
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | Common Pleas Judge Robert E. Hood’s ruling that the House Republican Caucus is not subject to South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act is a disturbing result. The caucus uses government resources without charge, and much of the state...
Is New York Times v. Sullivan in danger?
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | The basis of modern American media law is the 1964 ruling in New York Times v. Sullivan, in which a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court recognized that the First Amendment required that limitations be placed on defamation law. But...
The government doesn’t dictate media here
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | On Jan. 6, 60 Minutes aired an interview with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi with two notable revelations: el-Sisi denied that his country has political prisoners, despite documentation; and he confirmed prior reports that Egyptian and Israeli forces have coordinated in...
Can public officials shut out journalists? It depends…
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | It already seems like a long time ago, but it’s only been a month since the Trump administration’s long-simmering clash with CNN reached a new level, with the cancellation of reporter Jim Acosta’s “hard pass” that gave him...
Freelancing FOIA
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | South Carolina’s Freedom of Information law provides that “[a]ll materials, regardless of form, gathered by a public body during a search to fill an employment position, except that materials relating to not fewer than the final three applicants...
First Amendment protects free distribution pubs too; new Horry litter ordinance could bring test
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | As newspapers have faced economic challenges, many have developed slimmed down versions that feature a few stories and both display and insert advertising. These new publications are offered for free, and are often delivered to individual homes without...
Frustrating FOIA
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | Through South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act, diligent journalists and others have discovered much revealing information about the actions of state and local government in our state. Things recently revealed through FOIA requests have included Anderson County’s failure...
Rhetoric aside, libel and media law haven’t changed that much
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | In an initiative fostered by the Boston Globe, newspapers and other news organizations are publishing editorials this week—primarily this Thursday, Aug. 16—denouncing President Trump’s frequent attacks on the news media, including his assertion that the media are “the...
When perceived libel gets deadly
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | There is obviously no justification for the shootings at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md., which killed five of the newspaper’s staff and injured two. But in the aftermath of the incident many have looked for causes, including...
Source secrecy in the modern era
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | The Justice Department’s accessing of reporter Ali Watkins’s email and phone records as part of a leak investigation is just one of several recent incidents in which the federal government has obtained the digital and other information about...
The (court)room where it happens
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | In the second act of the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton,” the Aaron Burr character expresses his jealousy at being excluded from –and his desire to get into – the meetings that his rival Alexander Hamilton participates in where...
Facebook, privacy and you
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | Facebook and its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg are being criticized far and wide for the company’s lax privacy practices after it was revealed that the political data firm Cambridge Analytica had used a seemingly innocuous personality test to...
Public accountability needed after mass shootings
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | Less than a week after the horrific shooting spree at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 students and staff members, a coalition of 16 news outlets and organizations filed a motion with the...
First Amendment February at the U.S. Supreme Court
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | February may be the shortest month, but it is full of arguments in major First Amendment cases at the U.S. Supreme Court. And while none of the cases directly involve the media, whenever the High Court considers a...
Washington woes, a Charleston charade and some hope
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | When I was a legal fellow at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press we had an “outrage meter” drawn on one of the whiteboards in the reception area. The “needle” on the meter would be redrawn...
What’s the FCC got to do with newspapers? Lately, a Lot.
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | Most actions by the Federal Communications Commission affect television and radio broadcasters, not newspapers. But the FCC, under Chairman Ajit Pai, is working on two rule changes which could impact the newspaper industry, with the effect on individual...
Why do we have a Freedom of Information Act?
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | There have been a lot of developments the past several weeks in South Carolina regarding application of the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
Another president who took on ‘fake news’
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | President Trump has made it clear that he doesn’t like the media by making threats and insulting both media outlets and individual journalists, ruminating about reforming libel law, and complaining about media coverage of himself and his administration.
Charlottesville, the First Amendment and the Press
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | Most reactions to the march by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va., last month condemned the marchers, their message and their use of swastikas, chants and Nazi imagery. But there were also questions of why they were allowed to...
Only one star, but several legal issues
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | A lawsuit by a Charleston psychiatrist over a single star review on Google raises several legal issues regarding standards for the social media era, including issues that apply equally to traditional media.
The holes in South Carolina’s shield law
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | The case of blogger Will Folks – in which a judge is considering whether to hold Folks in contempt and possibly jail him for refusing to reveal a confidential source – points out an intentional gap in South...
The Media Bite Back: Legal responses to attacks against the media
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | The insults and haranguing of the media during Donald Trump’s campaign has continued into his presidency, with Trump and various White House officials continuing to disparage the media and its reporting. Elected officials at the state and local...
Local case raises question: Is journalism harassment?
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | In April, independent investigative journalist Ron Aiken successfully defended himself against civil harassment and stalking charges brought against him by Pinewood Lake Park Foundation CEO Liewendelyn Hart, after Aiken reported that the foundation’s use of government funds is...
The Dilemma of Group Libel: How big is it?
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | An ongoing story in the state in recent weeks has been the suspension of the Coastal Carolina University cheerleading team amidst allegations that some team members worked as strippers and escorts, provided alcohol to minors and payed other...
FOIA, police cameras, and the New Frontier
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | Here in South Carolina, a debate is going on over disclosure of another sort of government record: video footage shot by law enforcement.
Fake news is a real dilemma for the law
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | The labelling of information as “fake news” has become yet another weapon in battles of the Trump presidency, used by the administration and its supporters as well as its critics.
What Trump can do to thwart the press
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | During his campaign, president-elect Donald Trump notoriously promised that he would “open up our libel laws so when they [the media] write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money."...
The Dylann Roof case, open and shut
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | In November, as the prosecution of Dylann Roof for the Emanuel AME Church massacre edged closer to trial, federal judge Richard Gergel decided to grant a defense request that the public and the press be barred from a...
About ‘of and concerning,’ and libel under Trump
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | A pair of sisters who were until recently students at the Medical University of South Carolina sued The Post and Courier for libel last month over articles alleging that although they had been found to have cheated on...
Donald Trump and Libel
By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications | Whatever you think of Donald Trump, it is clear that he does have much regard for the media. In addition to threatening to sue news outlets that published stories about his comments and behavior – despite his poor...