"Newsline has no responsibility to independently assess the legal
claims being made, no matter how outrageous? If the lawyers said,
for example, that we employed child molesters, Newsline could still
report that, with no liability to themselves?"
"Correct."
"Let's say we go to trial and win. It's clear that Newsline
presented an erroneous view of our product, based on the attorney's
allegations, which have been thrown out of court. Is Newsline
obligated to retract the statements they made to forty million
viewers?"
"No. They have no such obligation."
"Why not?"
"Newsline can decide what's newsworthy. If they think the
outcome of the trial is not newsworthy, they don't have to report
it. It's their call."
"And meanwhile, the company is bankrupt," Marder said. "Thirty
thousand employees lose their jobs, houses, health benefits, and
start new careers at Burger King. And another fifty thousand lose
their jobs, when our suppliers go belly up in Georgia, Ohio, Texas,
and Connecticut. All those fine people who've devoted their lives
working to design, build, and support the best airframe in the
business get a firm handshake and a swift kick in the butt. Is that
how it works?"
Fuller shrugged. "That's how the system works. Yes."
"I'd say the system sucks."
"The system is the system," Fuller said.
Marder glanced at Casey, then turned back to Fuller. "Now Ed," he
said. "This situation sounds very lopsided. We make a superb
product, and all the objective measures of its performance
demonstrate that it's safe and reliable. We've spent years
developing and testing it. We've got an irrefutable track record.
But you're saying a television crew can come in, hang around a day or
two, and trash our product on national TV. And when they do, they
have no responsibility for their acts, and we have no way to recover
damages."
Fuller nodded.
"Pretty lopsided," Marder said.
Fuller cleared his throat. "Well, it wasn't always that way.
But for the last thirty years, since Sullivan in 1964, the First
Amendment has been invoked in defamation cases. Now the press has a
lot more breathing room."
"Including room for abuse," Marder said.
Fuller shrugged. "Press abuse is an old complaint," he said.
"Just a few years after the First Amendment was passed, Thomas
Jefferson complained about how inaccurate the press was, how unfair
-"
"But Ed," Marder said. "We're not talking about two hundred
years ago. And we're not talking about a few nasty editorials in
colonial newspapers. We're talking about a television show with