Plaintiff Must Meet New York Times Standard of Proof to Recover if the Alleged Defamatory Misstatement of Fact Concerns a Matter of Public Interest

Focuses on the Rosenbloom obscenity case and the plaintiff’s status classification used to determine the burden the plaintiff must prove for libel. The article explores the issues that arise from a case where a private person brings a claim against the news media. The author suggests that using the New York Times standard of actual malice will protect the newspaper’s first amendment rights. The author notes that suits won against the news media could lead the media to censor their material in fear of being in future libel lawsuits.