NBC's Malicious Editing and the George Zimmerman Defamation Case
A brief history of the Constitutional dimensions of defamation, a discussion of George Zimmerman v. NBC, and a call for careful consideration of the ability of national news organizations to confer “public figure” status, especially including their legal adversaries in defamation. Introduction In December 2012 George Zimmerman filed a defamation lawsuit against NBC television and three of their news reporters / producers – Ron Allen, Lilia Rodriguez Luciano, and Jeff Burnside. Zimmerman alleged that the producers maliciously edited a recording of Zimmerman’s 911 call, falsely accused him of uttering a racial epithet, and falsely reported the facts of the Trayvon Martin shooting in such a way as to make Zimmerman appear that he racially targeted Martin and gunned him down in cold blood. Zimmerman alleged that this was done for the purpose of generating high television ratings. The defamation action was stayed pending the outcome of the criminal ...