Wfaa-Tv, Inc. v. Mclemore

978 S.W.2d 568 (1998)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

ATF agents raided the Branch Davidians. Two local media outlets, KWTX-TV Channel 10 in Waco and the Waco Tribune-Herald, learned from various sources that a major law enforcement operation would proceed that morning. KWTX-TV dispatched P and cameraman Dan Mullony to report on the event. The agents became involved in a gunfight with the Davidians. Four agents and three Davidians were killed, and twenty agents were wounded. P and Mullony, the only media representatives to follow the agents onto the compound, reported live from the midst of the firefight. Two days later, media reports began to focus on why the raid had failed and what sparked the gunfight. Kathy Fair, a Houston Chronicle reporter, appeared on Nightline, an ABC news show anchored by Ted Koppel. Koppel and Fair discussed the media's role in the botched ATF raid. Fair stated that ATF agents believed they were set up by the media. She stated that reporters were already hiding in the trees when federal agents arrived. Many of the agents had a strong belief that they were set up. As soon as the Nightline broadcast ended, KWTX-TV began to receive calls critical of P's role in the raid, even though Fair had not identified him by name. D picked up the story the next day and began to broadcast reports by Valerie Williams, a D reporter, who repeated Fair's report that ATF agents saw local media hiding in trees at the compound before the attack began. D then broadcast video footage of P while apparently on the compound grounds. Williams then continued her report: The only reporters at the scene Sunday morning were P and a television photographer from KWTX-TV in Waco and one or two reporters from the local newspaper. P's news unit was used to transport some of the wounded agents. Currently, his bosses are consulting with attorneys before issuing a statement. D repeated the news report. P's station demanded a retraction from Nightline saying, 'The rumor that a Waco reporter had tipped the cult about the raid in exchange for permission to be on the compound grounds was completely false. No reporter or photographer from local media was on the compound grounds prior to the raid.' P sued D, Valerie Williams, A.H. Belo Corporation, Belo Productions, Inc., the Houston Chronicle, and Kathy Fair for defamation. D moved for summary judgment. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the Chronicle and Fair but denied D's motion for summary judgment. The court of appeals concluded that P was a private individual, and as such, he had to prove negligence, not actual malice, in his defamation case. D appealed. D claims P is a public figure.