Highlights Hair Salon owner Eric Zahm sympathized with workers seeking to form a union at the Santa Barbara News-Press, so he put a sign in his window reading “McCaw Obey the Law”, referring to the paper’s owner, Wendy McCaw. Next thing you know, McCaw’s lawyer, Barry Cappello, fired off a letter to Zahm threatening “appropriate action” if the sign were not taken down, on the grounds that the sign’s message exposed his client to “hatred, contempt and ridicule.” Zahm caved in for fear of a suit and took down the sign. So much for the notion that all newspaper magnates are devotees of freedom of speech (Matt Cota, “Santa Barbara News-Press Owner Threatens Hair Stylist Over Sign”, KSBY, Dec. 15).
More: In the comments, reader “imafish” alerts us to another lawsuit in which Ampersand Publishing LLC, which publishes the News-Press, has sued reporter Susan Paterno, claiming that an article she wrote about the newspaper in the American Journalism Review was a “biased, false and misleading diatribe”; charging her with libel and product disparagement, it asks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. (Greg Risling, “Publisher Sues Reporter Over Story”, AP/Newsday, Dec. 19).
5 Comments
And don’t forget this story. Newspaper publisher Ampersand Publishing LLC’s filed a lawsuit against journalist Susan Paterno for libel and product disparagement concerning an alleged negative story she wrote about Ampersand.
..on the grounds that the sign’s message exposed his client to “hatred, contempt and ridicule.”
Other than the threat of a suit by a deep pocket armed with lots of expensive lawyers harassing a small businessman who cannot afford even a single modest priced lawyer, is there anything wrong with the above accusation. Indeed, if it were not for the possible exposure to ‘hatred, contempt, and ridicule’, then most useful social conformity would break down. Society needs a healthy dose of shame available to keep its members in check.
Next time someone acts like such a jerk while threatening “appropriate action,” I hope the response is “Go ahead, make my day. Start acting appropriately … for once.”
Is the Zahm incident not what anti-Slapp legislation was supposed to deal with? I thought California had a pretty tough law that would stay discovery and most trial costs for someone like Zahm and award him attorney’s fees if he won.
Ms McCaw is worried about ridicule? I just gave her the following.
http://thefloridamasochist.blogspot.com/2006/12/knucklehead-of-day-award_20.html
She is gaining much more bad publicity than if she left these people alone. This isn’t about ridicule but a rich bully who feels the need to threaten and intimidate people she doesn’t like or disagree with her.