FORUM IV: INDIANAPOLIS STAR V. MILLER

A Marion County judge ruled in 2011 that Indianapolis news outlets could be forced to reveal the identities of people who post comments on on-line forums. The ruling came as part of a defamation lawsuit filed by former Junior Achievement of Central Indiana CEO Jeffrey Miller. The lawsuit claimed anonymous posters on the websites of the Indianapolis Star, the Indianapolis Business Journal, and WRTV-TV’s TheIndyChannel.com, unfairly attacked Miller over the alleged misuse of Junior Achievement funds. The IBJ and WRTV complied with the court's order and revealed the identities, but the Indianapolis Star appealed the ruling to the Indiana Court of Appeals, which agreed with the lower court in 2012. Indiana Court of Appeals Oral Arguments The Star's lawsuit attempted to protect the identity of the on-line commenter named in the defamation suit who went by the screen name DownwiththeColts. The post in question alleged that mismanaged funds could be found in Miller's bank account. Miller's attorney, Kevin Betz said in the Indianapolis Business Journal, "If you accuse somebody of committing a crime of thievery, that is defamation, and we believe that is what they are saying. The Internet is not a license to defame people and treat them in a mean-spirited way that harms them psychologically and economically." The larger question to be addressed is "Should news websites be forced to reveal the identities of anonymous commenters?" Indianapolis Star Editor Dennis Ryerson, who has since retired, said in a statement in response to the lower court ruling, that "Our practice is not to reveal names. We've long had a practice of protecting sources at all levels. If all outlets give up the names, does that create a chilling effect on the marketplace of ideas?" Robert Katz, a professor at the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, told WRTV-TV that if the lower court judge's ruling was allowed to stand that it could hurt the free flow of information. Katz said, "If people know that their names might be turned over, they are less likely to share information, and so we are less likely to learn about bad stuff that is going on." Star attorney Jan Carroll said, "It's no different than Deep Throat saying to Woodward and Bernstein, "You need to follow the money." The commenter said, "You need to see where the money is." All journalistic organizations need help from the public to know where the other lines of information to follow." Carroll argued that Indiana’s Journalist Shield Statute and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protect the identity of “DownWithTheColts.” However, the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the lower court ruling stating that if the online comment had led to further reporting there might have been justification for protecting that commenter as a source, but that wasn't what happened. The Court also rejected the argument that the state's Shield Law protecting journalists applied as the comments were posted after the newsgathering process was complete and the story had been published. Conduct your own research on the defamation lawsuit brought against Junior Achievement of Central Indiana by former CEO Jeffrey Miller. As part of the suit, Miller claimed that news websites should have to identify those who make anonymous comments. A Marion County judge agreed, but the Indianapolis Star appealed the decision to the Indiana Court of Appeals. The Appeals Court mostly upheld the lower court decision in its ruling. Post a forum entry stating your opinion on the issue. Be sure to include the Constitutional and legal basis for your arguments. To assist in your research, I have included with my original forum posting links to the Appeals Court oral arguments and the Court's decision. Suggested length: 300-350 words (I won’t count words, but this is about the length you’ll need to adequately discuss the case.) Be the first to let me know this forum posted and I'll give you a medal.