The Chronicle is hailing a Texas Supreme Court decision dismissing a libel suit brought against the newspaper by former Smith County District Attorney Jack Skeen.
The court found that Skeen had not demonstrated that Chronicle reporter Evan Moore acted with actual malice.
The decision seems appropriate, so far as it goes. Although the reporting in question clearly pushed a point of view and it clearly focused on a handful of instances with no clear indication of the much larger universe of cases from which the handful were drawn (rendering it less than forthcoming and perhaps even misleading), that in itself is not evidence of actual malice.
Chronicle editor Jeff Cohen had this reaction:
“Evan Moore’s story was quintessential enterprise reporting — thorough and balanced,” said Jeff Cohen, editor of the Chronicle. “We applaud the court’s quick and decisive decision as a victory for the First Amendment and for the people of Texas, who ultimately want journalists to act as independent watchdogs of government.”
That says something about Jeff Cohen and his approach to journalism, but it really doesn’t say much about this case. The Texas Supreme Court didn’t endorse the reporting as thorough or balanced, but simply ruled (properly in my view) on the question of malice. Indeed, reporter Moore admitted that he conducted no statistical analysis that would confirm the article’s implication that ten cases were representative of a system of not-so-blind justice in Smith County. He wrote the story he wanted to write, and he did the necessary legwork to support what he wrote apparently.
The court made no judgment about the quality of the journalism beyond the question of malice. As frequent critics of the Chronicle, we can sympathize with public figures who might have reason to be frustrated with the poor quality of the journalism practiced by Houston’s only newspaper. But poor quality is not the same as actual malice, which must be demonstrated. Our First Amendment jurisprudence necessarily sets that bar high, and properly so. Instead of lowering that bar, we much prefer competition (in the form of talk radio, blogs, maybe even a Houston Examiner) as the solution.
