Examples of Legal Problem

As a public relations writer, you represent the management of your organization. What you release is interpreted as the voice of management. Nevertheless, you can be held personally liable for any statements that cause defamation or violate the guidelines of state regulatory agencies. Actions are ordinarily brought against the top officials of an organization, but remember that you can be named as a co-defendant.

To protect yourself, you should be sure that the facts you are given are accurate. It is no excuse to say, "The boss told me that was so". In a trial, you must be able to prove that you made a reasonable effort to verify information.

Among the actions for which you might be liable are the following:

• Disseminating information that a court or regulatory agency finds misleading, untrue, or damaging

• Participating in an illegal action

• Counseling or guiding policy to accomplish an illegal action

• Setting up an organization whose real identity is concealed.

Libel and Slander

Any false statement about a person that is printed or broadcast and tends to bring on this person public hatred, contempt, or ridicule or to inflict injury on his or her business or occupation may be libel. If the statement is broadcast, it may constitute either libel or slander. If it is made to a third person but neither printed nor broadcast, it may be slander.

Any plaintiff in a libel suit must prove four points:

1. that the statement was published to others by print or broadcast;

2. that the plaintiff was identified or is identifiable;

3. that there was actual injury in the form of money losses, impairment of reputation, humiliation, or mental anguish and suffering, and

4) that the publisher of the statement was malicious or negligent.

With public figures — people in government or politics or who are much in the news — the test is whether the publisher of the statement knew that it was false or had a reckless disregard for its truth. The question of who is a public figure cannot be answered arbitrarily, and the courts are inconsistent on this. It often depends on the context.

With private figures — people who are not officials or prominent in the news — the test is whether the publisher of the statement was negligent in checking the truth of it. In quoting someone, for instance, be sure you state exactly what was said.

These few highlights only hint at the ramifications of libel law. For your protection and for the protection of your organization, you need to dig deeper into this subject.

Remember that you needn't use a name to commit libel. A recognizable descrip­tion serves the same purpose. If the subject remains unnamed but the public knows who is being talked about, there may be grounds for a libel case.

Invasion of Privacy

In recent years, there has been a great increase in sensitivity to invasion of privacy. Laws have been passed and lawsuits have been filed in an effort to protect the privacy of individuals. In general, laws and lawsuits strive to prevent anyone from knowing anything about an individual that individual does not want to be known.

Protection of employee privacy can create problems. People are interested in peo­ple, and most people are willing to have favorable things said about themselves. The problem is to include the good things and avoid the others.

Much information to flesh out a story can be obtained by asking questions of each person involved, elicit facts that are interesting and favorable. After the story is written, show it to the person mentioned. If he or she objects to anything, take it out. Once the material has been approved, get the subject to sign it.

There may be times when a reporter will ask you for information about an employee. In general, most companies have adopted a policy of merely confirming that a person is employed and in what position. You can also tell a reporter the date on which the employee first joined the firm.

Under no circumstances should you take it upon yourself to tell a reporter an employee's home address, marital status, or number of children, nor should you reveal any aspect of a job performance record. If the reporter wants to know such things, the best approach is to say that you will ask the employee to call. In this way, the employee knows that an inquiry has been made and can determine what information is to be divulged. It also lets you and the company off the hook in terms of protecting the employee's privacy.

Another way for a company to protect itself against employees' invasion-of-priva­cy suits is to have a standard biographical form that each one fills out. At the top of this form should be a clear-cut statement that the information provided may be used in company publicity and employee newsletters.