Legal Question in Telecomm Law in California
Are University Professors considered "Public Personalities" for the purposes of writing about their actions and viewpoints in a Generally Distributed Newspaper that has a subscription base and is readily available to the public? Would it be defamation if the article was less than favorable?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Generally, a University Professor is probably NOT a public figure, unless he or she has sought out the public spotlight in some manner.
Defamation is a FALSE statement made about a person that injures his or her reputation. Beware also about conjecture, or making statements that imply or suggest something that isn't true.
Bottom line, a "less than favorable" article isn't defamatory unless it's FALSE. But, there may be other claims related to invasion of privacy, public disclosure of private, embarrassing facts, or false light invasion. So, be careful.
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