"News organizations have an obligation to thoroughly investigate and verify facts in a report," Clare said. "The failure to do so is evidence of actual malice — one of the key elements of a successful defamation claim against a media defendant. That is especially true when, as is apparently true in this case, information rebutting the themes of the story is readily available to the reporter prior to the broadcast."

As for a journalist bringing this bias to the story, Clare said:

"There is risk to objectivity when a reporter has editorialized on a subject or expressed a personal view on a subject that he or she later seeks to report on. Courts have held that preconceived beliefs about a proposed storyline — which often lead to the selective inclusion of facts in a story — can be evidence of actual malice."

Michael Fumento is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. where he specializes in science and health issues. He is the author of numerous books, and he is completing a forthcoming book on biotechnology.

Recommend this site to a friend!