Eddie Johnson v. The Trib and Skip Bayless

[JayFarrar]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/southsouthwest/chi-0610130260oct13,1,4924443.story

From the Trib's story on the lawsuit ...
"The day after the Tribune story appeared, Dan McGrath, the paper's ashociate managing editor/sports, apologized for the 'inadvertent but hurtful error' that he said occurred in the rush to meet deadlines."
So I'm ashuming it is better to call someone a child molester and meet deadline, than make sure it is accurate, and bust a deadline?
Hmm, even the lawyer makes the same argument, basically saying we apologized the next day, what more does the guy, who we accused of being a child molester, want?
Skipper's involved since he was on the radio that day talking about shameful it was to see a fine guy like Eddie Johnson getting busted for diddling kids. But Skipper was just reading the Trib that day, not actually doing any reporting. If he had, he would have seen the AP story that correctly identified the right Eddie Johnson.
It seems to me that using the excuse of "we were just trying to make deadline" is pretty weak and it won't stand in court. Best guess, sealed out of court settlement in the low seven figures, split between the Trib and ClearChannel, the company that owns the station Skipper was on.
Paging DyePack ... Did the Trib's story run on the cover and how did the Sun-Times play it?

 

[Pringle]

There is no way that Bayless should be on the hook for this. No way.

 

[Ace]

There is no way that Bayless should be on the hook for this. No way.

If you read something libelous out of the paper and spread it across the airwaves without attributing it, you'd be just as much on the hook as the newspaper.

 

[21]

Is it clear whether Skip based his comments on the Tribune story, or made the same ashumption about Johnson on his own?

 

[hondo]

Look, even the most casual NBA fan knew there were two Eddie Johnsons. Wouldn't you be that much more careful to make sure you ID the right one? Especially since AP was correct in the first place?

Nail 'em..and Bayless too.

 

[Floyd]

Do we really need an excuse to want bad things to happen to Bayless? I say, lock him up for this, and save me from ever having to see him while flipping through the channels again. If there's some way to tie Woody Paige to it as well, even better.

 

[hondo]

Do we really need an excuse to want bad things to happen to Bayless? I say, lock him up for this, and save me from ever having to see him while flipping through the channels again. If there's some way to tie Woody Paige to it as well, even better.

Hey, as long as we're at it, can we dream big: LeBetard and two midgets?

 

[D-3 Fan]

What? Not Loopy?

I remember vividly when Skippy read the Trib and did his diatribe without verifying it. I'm a casual fan and I never knew that there were two Eddie Johnsons. Then again, I'm a young pup and only remember the clashy nice Eddie.

The Trib will settle before it goes to a jury or judge's decision.

 

[da man]

Doesn't EJ have to show malice because he's a public figure? That would be awfully tough for him to prove given the apology.

 

[Clever username]

Doesn't EJ have to show malice because he's a public figure? That would be awfully tough for him to prove given the apology.

Yes, he does have to prove malice if he's a public figure. But is he? He was, certainly, but is he still?

 

[Bubbler]

Doesn't EJ have to show malice because he's a public figure? That would be awfully tough for him to prove given the apology.

Yes, he does have to prove malice if he's a public figure. But is he? He was, certainly, but is he still?

Definitely, otherwise why would any media mistake him for the other Eddie Johnson? The newsworthiness of that story has a direct correlation to both players' fame, whether he was wrongly attributed or not.

He has an uphill battle in this one.

 

[DyePack]

Sadly, I must admit I read the story at (gulp) Poynter and not in the Tribune, so I don't know how it was played.

The landscape has allowed this latest Tribune misadventure to fly under the radar. The Bears are undefeated; the Cubs suck ash, fired Baker and hired Pinellia; Juan Uribe clearly fired in self-defense [/hawktard]; the Bulls are (or were) 2-0 in exhibition play; and the Blackhawks -- well, no one gives a ship.