Defamation is a dignity tort involving injury to one’s reputation caused by a false statement of fact and includes both libel (defamation in written or fixed form) and slander (spoken defamation). One of the more challenging aspects of defamation law is that it deals with the clash of two important, but admittedly ambiguous, societal values: freedom of speech and the protection of reputation. As a result, it is an interesting amalgam of state law and constitutional law.
The articles listed below, which discuss various aspects of defamation law, were published by faculty members affiliated with the Center. For more information on the Center’s work in this area, including recent blog posts and events, please visit our Defamation Focus page.
Journalism and Media Business
| Author(s) | Title | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria Ekstrand | Applying Theory and Legal History to Research Press Rights and Freedom, Historiography in Mass Communication | 2021 |
| Mary-Rose Papandrea | Recent Developments in Media Law: Reporter's Privilege, UNC Center for Media Law and Policy | 2021 |
| Penelope Muse Abernathy | News Deserts and Ghost Newspapers: Will Local News Survive, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media | 2020 |
| Victoria Ekstrand | The Public Square is Increasingly Owned by Private Interests. That’s Not Good for Free Speech,” News & Observer op-ed | 2018 |
| Victoria Ekstrand & Chris Roush | From “Hot News” to “Hot Data”: The Rise of “Fintech,” the Ownership of Big Data, and the Future of the Hot News Doctrine, Intellectual Property Law Review | 2018 |
| Penelope Muse Abernathy | The Expanding News Desert, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media | 2018 |
| Victoria Ekstrand & Chris Roush | From “Hot News” to “Hot Data”: The Rise of “Fintech,” the Ownership of Big Data, and the Future of the Hot News Doctrine, Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal | 2017 |
| Penelope Muse Abernathy | Thwarting the Emergence of News Desert, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media | 2017 |
| Penelope Muse Abernathy | The Rise of a New Media Baron and the Emerging Threat of News Deserts, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media | 2016 |
| Penelope Muse Abernathy | Saving Community Journalism: The Path to Profitability, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media | 2014 |
| Cathy Packer | Social Media Use in Courtrooms, Social Media & the Law: A Guidebook for Communication Students and Professionals, 175-195. (Routledge Publishing, 2013) | 2013 |
| Dean Smith, David Ardia & Cathy Packer | From Competition to Cooperation: Engaging Cable, Satellite, Internet and Mobile Broadband Service Providers in Meeting the Information Needs of Communities, UNC Center for Media Law and Policy | 2012 |
| Cathy Packer | The Politics of Power: A Social Architecture Analysis of the 2005-2008 Shield Law Debate in Congress, 31 Hastings Comm & Ent. L.J. 395 (2009) | 2009 |