Political Mess

There’s a heated Mayoral race in our town that may get even hotter as we get closer to Election Day. Makes me wish I was still doing news…this is one debate I would make sure I found a way to get done.

Apparently the two candidates have faced off before and it wasn’t pretty. Now challenger and one time mayor is upset at a radio ad that the incombant is currently airing and wants a copy because he may file a slander suit. The FCC says we don’t have to turn over a copy of the spot or a transcript. But we do have to hand over a copy of the broadcast agreement. I doubt the request will go much further.

I’m not sure, but I believe for a slander suit to have any chance of winning, the accuser needs to prove that the person doing the ‘slandering’ is being malicious in nature and is spreading falsehoods...

Almost all legal systems, including those of the United States, Scotland, and England and Wales, require in some situations that the subject of the communication prove, in a civil court, that the defendant made the statement with "malice", meaning either believing it was false or with "reckless disregard" for whether it was false. This is known as "qualified privilege"; a typical example is a complaint of professional misconduct.

It should be interesting to see what becomes of this Political Mess.

AJ