Falls V The Sporting News Publishing Company Case Analysis

In my last analysis is the US Supreme Court decision in Falls v The Sporting News Publishing Company that is an example of how the district court of Michigan defined a sportswriter as a pubic figure. At the time of the libel suit, Joseph F. Falls was a 57-year-old veteran Sports Editor of The Detroit News. In 1963, Falls began working freelance writing a weekly column for The Sporting News Company. It was during this employment that the libel dispute took place.
The libel dispute had its beginning in 1985 when Falls was fired by Tom Barnidge, The Sporting News’ Editor. Upon firing Falls, Barnidge was quoted as saying “Mr. Falls no longer fit our image” (Falls v. The Sporting News Publishing Company, 1990). In addition to the first comment,

on June 19, 1985 Editor Barnidge wrote in response to a reader’s letter regarding Falls termination that "I know that Joe brightened a lot of hearts with his column through the years but we felt it was time to make a change, with more energetic columnists who attend more events and are closer to today's sports scene." Moreover, on September 17, 1985 USA Today wrote a “cover story” about the events taking place at The Sporting News Company where defendant Richard Waters, president and chief executive officer of The Sporting News Company was quoted as saying "[t]hose who seem to have reached maturity and are on the downswing are giving way to some of the up-and-coming young writers who we think deserve a chance." Therefore, these two statements form the basis for Falls defamation claim because they are embarrassing, defamatory attacks to his character.
Defendants Waters and Barnidge argued that Falls should be tried as a public figure because he is an integral part of their success – without his articles, TNS would not be nearly as popular with its readers.

Moreover, the whoel controversy was sparked over a letter to the editor. Furthermore, Relying on Gertz v Robert Welch, the district court states that a public figure is “"For the most part those who attain this status have assumed roles of especial prominence in the affairs of society. Some occupy positions of such persuasive power and influence that they are deemed public figures for all purposes. More commonly, those classed as public figures have thrust themselves to the forefront of particular public controversies in order to influence the resolution of the issues involved. In either event, they invite attention and comment." (Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 1974) Therefore, with regard to his activities relating to sports, writing, and criticism – anyone who voluntarily writes articles for a national purpose is deemed a public figure. However, Falls didn’t agree that he should be tried as a public figure, and thus, we will explore his argument.
The Plaintiff Falls argues that he is a not a public figure because he did not voluntarily thrust himself into public controversy over his termination. However, this is not the test. Rather, the test is if the title “sportswriter” earns him public figure attention for the purposes of commentary. According to the USA Today’s “cover story,” The Sporting News had a circulation of 700,000 in 1985. Due to this finding, Falls could not argue a claim for protection as a private figure, and thus, he is required to prove actual

malice.
In handing down their decision, the district court found that the prominence of Falls’ role as a sportswriter in accordance to his role as a sports editor for The Detroit News did indeed make him a public figure. Moreover, Falls played a large role in The Sporting News viewer rate. Although, Falls has yet to prove actual malice, the judgment of the district court was affirmed.
In conclusion, defamation law is a double-edged sword that can ruin lives. Protecting people’s character comes with cost and defamation law tries to balance that by weighing the right to free speech against the right of people to their reputations. If disputed correctly, one can use defamation law as a means to combat libel and slander.