Articles Merit A Defamation Claim Summary

(1) Do the Articles Merit a Defamation Claim? Part 4: Broader Context of the Articles
The general context of the three Post articles further demonstrate that the statements would be perceived by the average reader of the Post as facts rather than opinions. (Driscoll, 1188). The cultural common sense of the ordinary reader would find the articles laden with facts rather than exaggerated or laden with emotional rhetoric and would therefore be swayed to adopt the Post’s position. (Milkovich, 2712-13)(dissenting). Though the articles appear in the entertainment section of the Post, they are written in a way to illustrate “hard news” to the reader due to the extensive use of quotes and factual contentions to support the writer’s theory. (Milkovich,

(Haynes, 1227). The average reader of the Post would believe that McArthur caused or contributed to Lennox’s suicide due to the Post’s assertion of McArthur’s “desire for control” and the effect this had on the band’s initial breakup and Lennox’s mental health. The defamatory statements exhibited are similar to those found in Rutt and MacRae, in which the court found that similar statements could be reasonably construed to imply that McArthur had in some way caused or contributed to Lennox’s suicide. (Rutt, 77)(finding the statement that the victim shot himself with a rifle apparently owned by his father provided support for the implication that the plaintiff in some fashion caused or contributed to the suicide); (MacRae, 18)(finding the obituary statement that the girl committed suicide after receiving bad grade, that her mother was very disappointed with her scholastic performance and that there were whispers that her mother told her that she was not allowed to return home until she fixed her grades). The plaintiffs in both Rutt and MacRae were private figures. (Rutt, 77); (MacRae, 18). In the instant case, McArthur is a public figure and