Few cases following Gertz have clarified what it means to be a limited purpose public figure and the Supreme Court has not established one concrete standard. In Time, Inc. v. Firestone, Mary Alice Firestone filed for divorce from her husband, an heir to the Firestone Tires fortune. Based on a claim by her husband, Time Magazine printed an article reporting that Firestone’s extreme cruelty and adultery caused the divorce. Firestone requested a retraction, but Time refused. Firestone sued Time, Inc. for libel in Florida state court. Surprisingly, despite being a known sociality and having strong access to the media, the Court held she was not a public figure. On the contrary, in Waldbaum v Fairchild, the court did not even consider the plaintiffs
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In addition to the plaintiff’s access to media, the role a plaintiff must play in a controversy to become a public figure, has also been topic of debate. One of the reasons for such debate is the every changing social …show more content…
In the case of Renner v. Donsbach, Renner was deemed a limited purpose public figure. These limited issues involved health and nutrition fraud. Renner has written extensively in this area as a newspaper columnist and author of various online journal articles. He also appeared on one nationally broadcast television program discussing health and nutrition issues. Bloggers who express their opinions on matters of public concern or controversy are writing the equivalent of a newspaper article. Instead of being printed, the opinion is being distributed via the Internet. Though Renner is a great start, and bloggers are often defined as amateur journalists, the writing created by bloggers is much more vast than that of journalists and therefore the analysis with regard to bloggers as public figures is much more complex. A more established and concrete standard must be established in order for Courts to more properly determine defamation cases in the future. In particular, with regard to defamation cases involving the Internet, a more establish standard for a plaintiff’s access to the media must be
In addition to the plaintiff’s access to media, the role a plaintiff must play in a controversy to become a public figure, has also been topic of debate. One of the reasons for such debate is the every changing social …show more content…
In the case of Renner v. Donsbach, Renner was deemed a limited purpose public figure. These limited issues involved health and nutrition fraud. Renner has written extensively in this area as a newspaper columnist and author of various online journal articles. He also appeared on one nationally broadcast television program discussing health and nutrition issues. Bloggers who express their opinions on matters of public concern or controversy are writing the equivalent of a newspaper article. Instead of being printed, the opinion is being distributed via the Internet. Though Renner is a great start, and bloggers are often defined as amateur journalists, the writing created by bloggers is much more vast than that of journalists and therefore the analysis with regard to bloggers as public figures is much more complex. A more established and concrete standard must be established in order for Courts to more properly determine defamation cases in the future. In particular, with regard to defamation cases involving the Internet, a more establish standard for a plaintiff’s access to the media must be