Week of January 8, 2010 [1]

Welcome to the Citizen Media Law Brief, a weekly newsletter highlighting recent blog posts, media law news, legal threat entries, and other new content on the Citizen Media Law Project's website. You are receiving this email because you have expressed interest in the CMLP or registered on our site, www.citmedialaw.org. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, you can unsubscribe by following the link at the bottom of this email or by going to http://www.citmedialaw.org/newsletter/subscriptions.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The latest from the Citizen Media Law Project blog...

Arthur Bright lauds a recent decision on the fair report privilege.
Massachusetts High Court Applies Fair Report Privilege to Anonymous Account of Closed Meeting [2]

David O'Brien reports that, for Kim Kardashian at least, the season of "peace on Earth, goodwill towards man" didn't last very long.
Kim Kardashian Finds Herself in a Low Calorie Twitter Mess [3]

Sam Bayard gives kudos to CMLP partners NFOIC and the Knight Foundation.
National Freedom of Information Coalition to Create FOI Litigation Fund With Help From Knight Foundation [4]

CMLP Staff announce an exciting new partnership for the Online Media Legal Network.
OMLN Partners With Online News Association to Provide Legal Assistance to Independent Journalists [5]

Andrew Moshirnia starts the new year off with news of some warm fuzzies from the TSA.
Is There a Mini Constitution in Sky Mall? How the TSA Forgets Citizens' Rights [6]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Recent threats added to the CMLP database...

Rakofsky v. South Florida Sun-Sentinel [7]
Posted Jan. 7, 2010

U.S. Chamber of Commerce v. Yes Men [8]
Posted Jan. 6, 2010

Siegal v. Kardashian [9]
Posted Jan. 5, 2010

Route 60 Hyundai v. Alascio [10]
Posted Jan. 4, 2010

TSA v Chris Elliott and Steve Frischling [11]
Posted Jan. 4, 2010

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Other citizen media law news...

Senator Demands IP Treaty Details
Wired/Threat Level [12] - Thurs. 01/07/10

Order to Shut Down Websites Critical of Apex Technology Group is Dangerous and Wrong
EFF Deep Links [13] -Thurs. 01/07/10

Injunction against defamatory content could not reach website owner
Internet Cases [14] - Thurs. 01/07/10 

Viacom, YouTube inch toward courtroom showdown
CNET News [15] - Thurs. 01/07/10

Google under fire for nuking blogs after spam reports
Ars Technica [16] - Tues. 01/05/10

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The full(er) Brief...

"As both a journalist and a techie, I'm pretty keen on the free flow of information, and thus pretty keen in turn on the importance of protecting journalists, both professional and citizen, who are in the business of facilitating that flow. So it was reassuring to see that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled on the side of the angels this week in the case of Howell v. Enterprise, granting protection from libel claims to reporters who fairly and accurately report official government proceedings. . . ."
Arthur Bright, Massachusetts High Court Applies Fair Report Privilege to Anonymous Account of Closed Meeting [2]

"Last week, celebrity, model, socialite, and actress Kim Kardashian found herself in diet hell. Dr. Sanford Siegal, creator of the 'Cookie Diet,' and his Company, Dr. Siegal's Direct Nutritionals, LLC, filed a lawsuit against Kardashian in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Miami, Florida, for allegedly publishing false and defamatory statements to her immensely popular twitter account. . . . On December 28th, 2009, Dr. Siegal and his company . . . fil[ed] this suit, focusing the substance of the defamation claims on Kardashian's assertions that the cookie diet is 'unhealthy' and 'Dr. Siegal is a liar' . . . . In addition to alleging that [the] statements were defamatory and inaccurate, the complaint claims that Kardashian had a commercial motive to defame Dr. Siegal and his company because Kardashian has an endorsement relationship with a competing diet product, QuickTrim, which relationship was not disclosed in the tweets at issue. . . . "
David O'Brien, Kim Kardashian Finds Herself in a Low Calorie Twitter Mess [3]

"The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press reports that the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC) has received a $2 million, three-year grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to create the Knight FOI Fund, which will help state freedom of information advocacy groups cover litigation costs associated with public records and open meetings disputes. NFOIC is a nonpartisan alliance of citizen-driven, nonprofit, freedom of information organizations, academic and First Amendment centers, journalistic societies, and attorneys that works to protect the public's right to oversee its government. The coalition was spurred to create the litigation fund after a summer 2009 survey of its members revealed declining levels of freedom of information litigation and the prospect of steeper declines in the future. . . ."
Sam Bayard, National Freedom of Information Coalition to Create FOI Litigation Fund With Help From Knight Foundation [4]

"The Citizen Media Law Project is pleased to announce that its Online Media Legal Network (OMLN) is partnering with the Online News Association (ONA) in a joint effort to help innovative online journalism ventures meet their legal needs. We're honored to join forces with such a key player in the field and looking forward to a fruitful relationship. . . ."
CMLP Staff, OMLN Partners With Online News Association to Provide Legal Assistance to Independent Journalists [5]

"In recent years, the American public seems to have fallen under the impression that providers and regulators of airline travel have extra-legal powers. These fictional powers typically mean that passengers can be treated like cattle. . . . So I think we are all used to stories of the TSA's ham-fisted ineptitude. But the TSA's latest misstep, the intimidation and harassment of bloggers, stands out in the Pantheon of Unacceptable and so deserves special attention. . . . [T]he TSA sent out a document to essentially every airline and screener outlining heightened security screening measures (read: more pat downs). The document was not classified. On December 27th two bloggers, Steven Frischling and Christopher Elliott, posted and commented on these new security directives. Then the TSA lost its mind and subpoenaed the bloggers on December 29th, hoping to find the source of the 'leak' and stifle further discussion of its super-secret, ultra-effective policies. . . . Where to begin? . . ."
Andrew Moshirnia, Is There a Mini Constitution in Sky Mall? How the TSA Forgets Citizens' Rights [6]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Join the conversation...

Can't get enough of the Citizen Media Law Project? Join us on Twitter [17], Facebook [18], and YouTube [19]!