In the 1990s, CBS infamously spiked a damning “60 Minutes” interview with whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand about the tobacco industry because the network’s lawyers feared it could be sued for encouraging him to violate a nondisclosure agreement with his former employer, a tobacco company.
Three decades later, Madison Square Garden is trying to use the legal theory that CBS’ lawyers once feared, now against Wired magazine.
MSG’s new lawsuit is the latest example of a private litigant trying to wield a legal claim known as “tortious interference with contract” against journalists who rely on sources bound by confidentiality agreements.
Under the First Amendment, the claim is baseless, but that doesn’t make it harmless. Lawsuits like these discourage investigative reporting by making newsgathering riskier and more expensive, and by putting confidential sources at risk of being exposed.
I guess the nepobaby James Dolan and his siblings that control the facial recognition hotspot Madison Square Garden haven't heard of the Streisand Effect.
[OP] FreedomofPress | 3 hours ago
In the 1990s, CBS infamously spiked a damning “60 Minutes” interview with whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand about the tobacco industry because the network’s lawyers feared it could be sued for encouraging him to violate a nondisclosure agreement with his former employer, a tobacco company.
Three decades later, Madison Square Garden is trying to use the legal theory that CBS’ lawyers once feared, now against Wired magazine.
MSG’s new lawsuit is the latest example of a private litigant trying to wield a legal claim known as “tortious interference with contract” against journalists who rely on sources bound by confidentiality agreements.
Under the First Amendment, the claim is baseless, but that doesn’t make it harmless. Lawsuits like these discourage investigative reporting by making newsgathering riskier and more expensive, and by putting confidential sources at risk of being exposed.
Read more: https://freedom.press/issues/msg-revives-legal-theory-that-once-haunted-60-minutes/
stuffitystuff | 2 hours ago
I guess the nepobaby James Dolan and his siblings that control the facial recognition hotspot Madison Square Garden haven't heard of the Streisand Effect.