It is not clear whether this will be more significant as a criminal or a defamation claim. CNN personality Richard Quest was arrested on April 18th. Various news organizations reported that he was found with a small bag of methamphetamine. Bad, but not particularly interesting. However, the New York Post has alleged that Quest was also caught with a rope around his neck that was tied to his genitals, and a sex toy in his boot. A bit of a difference and one that could lead to some interesting litigation if found to be untrue or misleading.
The New York Post reported the story here. The basic facts have appeared elsewhere. Quest, 46, was arrested at around 3:40 a.m. with another man inside the park near 64th Street.
One of two things seem possible here. Either the other news organizations did not consider these facts to be newsworthy (or could not confirm them) or New York Post is way out on a legal limb in reporting this first (some blogs had reported these facts earlier). If untrue, it would be ripe for a defamation action on the allegation of sexual misconduct, a per se category under common law.
If true, most media contracts contains a provision that allows termination for notorious or criminal conduct — once called a “morality clause.” This would do it. Of course, if untrue, Quest will join Richard Gere as one of the greatest sexual urban legends of all time.
The Post is basing its reporting on unidentified police sources. It would be surprising for a major newspaper to go too far in front of the news pack without two or three such sources. Under New York Times v. Sullivan, Quest would have to show actual malice — including either knowledge of the falsity or more likely reckless disregard. He is a public figure for the purposes of defamation. Given the impact of the story, one would assume that the New York Post had at least two sources and at least ten times the number of lawyers on this story.
Niblet
I call Godwin
and so early in the exchange too
It was shocking to read about Richard Quest in CNN.com.Since April 08 I missed him from CNN. Now I regret going toCNN.com in search of R,Quest! He was such a wonderful personality, I immensly enjoyed his presentations.I will miss him.
UNBELIEVABLE left wing LUNACY REIGNS HERE.
Sounds more like right wing toilet-stall toe tapping to me.
Gotta go…taking Bosnian sniper fire.
Niblet,
A liberal is what’s left after you wring all the hate, selfishness , bigotry, nativism, stupidity, false patriotism, bullying and insularity out of a conservative.
This is just too good to be real. A couple of wacked out left wing liberals defending CNN’s reporting only what Saddam allowed reported on the excuse that well, maybe they were able to get a little truth out behind Saddam’s back.
You all need to remember Nazi Germany, pre 1939, because this is EXACTLY what was going on there. Everybody in the news business turned their backs to what the Nazi’s were doing so they didn’t get their butts kicked out of Germany!
UNBELIEVABLE left wing LUNACY REIGNS HERE
Fox continued.
Or perhaps, if the DOJ allows it, maybe Fox News and the Church of Scientology should do a merger. That would be a marriage made on Planet Xenu! Then Bill-O and Hannity and the other homunculi there could transcend their human limitations and become Clears or whatever the term is, the network then start suing everybody, everywhere, and shortly after that the whole planet implode from a geological sense of frustration with the doings of the dominant species on the surface.
Last broadcast heard from the last Fox broadcast studio sliding into an opening chasm: “Clinton is responsible!”
Niblet:
I did read THAT story. No fair reading suggests that CNN had a “deal with Saddam.” Instead the author, CNN news executive Eason Jordan, said he made 13 trips in an attempt to lobby to keep the bureau open and arrange interviews with the Iraqis. While there, he became increasingly distressed by the “…awful things that could not be reported because doing so would have jeopardized the lives of Iraqis, particularly those on our Baghdad staff.”
In the world of make believe this might pass for a “deal” but, here in our world, it appears to be editorial prudence to protect lives. One can hardly imagine a more twisted or cynical interpretation of what that article stated than to say there was some tacit “deal” with the dictator to keep the bureau open. Deals made over the barrel of a gun are not agreements in any civilized world. One wonders if they are in Niblets?
“There are just FOX fans in this state.”
Wonderful network, Fox.
Really Niblet, you should do that which you loathe, i.e. hire a good attorney (perhaps Mespo would take your case), and sue the daylights out of FOX for so grieviously misinforming you, causing you the substantial harm of losing argument after argument on blogs and suffering belittling and condescending putdowns for the weakness of the “facts” you rely on.
In fact maybe there is a class-action possible, with the mistreated viewers of that network rising up and sending it to the bottom!
“patty c: THE WHOLE DARN POINT WAS CNN HAD NO BUSINESS IN IRAQ IF THEY COULD NOT PRINT THE TRUTH!!!
LORDY!”
I see. You would prefer CNN to have had no access in Baghdad – period.
No eyes, no ears, with no chance at ever being heard.
Deaf, dumb, and blind – without any sense whatsoever was going on there.
Gotta hand it to you-that’s very smart. Always thinkin’ aren’t ya…?
patty c: You MISSED the whole point and are as clueless as mespo!
CNN should have pulled its Bahgdad bureau out of the country rather than become a mouthpiece for Saddam!
That is the whole criticism. They didn’t pull their journalists out! I find it outrageous but typical here that once again you are in the small minority of those that refused to condemn CNN for out’s outrageous actions; instead you try to justify it on the grounds that reporting the truth would have put Iraquis in jeapardy.
patty c: THE WHOLE DARN POINT WAS CNN HAD NO BUSINESS IN IRAQ IF THEY COULD NOT PRINT THE TRUTH!!!
LORDY!
That’s enough. YOU could work for ‘FIX’ with Bell O’, Nibs!
Read his op ed – again, S-L-O-W-L-Y.
The News We Kept To Ourselves
By EASON JORDAN
Published: April 11, 2003
“Over the last dozen years I made 13 trips to Baghdad to lobby the government to keep CNN’s Baghdad bureau open and to arrange interviews with Iraqi leaders. Each time I visited, I became more distressed by what I saw and heard — awful things that could not be reported because doing so would have jeopardized the lives of Iraqis, particularly those on our Baghdad staff…”
mespo you are so clueless this is worth repeating:
mespo you are so clueless! The fact you missed that CNN’s chief news executive ADMITTED IT in a NYT article just 4 years ago makes me think you are less than 1% as “informed” as you think are…:
CNN’s Iraqi Cover-Up
CNN admits that knowledge of murder, torture, and planned assassinations were suppressed in order to maintain CNN’s Baghdad bureau.
In a shocking New York Times opinion piece, CNN’s chief news executive Eason Jordan has admitted that for the past decade the network has systematically covered up stories of Iraqi atrocities. Reports of murder, torture, and planned assassinations were suppressed in order to maintain CNN’s Baghdad bureau.
Read Jordan’s op-ed at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/11/opinion/11JORD.html
mespo you are so clueless! The fact you missed that CNN’s chief news executive ADMITTED IT in a NYT article just 4 years ago makes me think you are less than 1% as “informed” as you think are…:
CNN’s Iraqi Cover-Up
CNN admits that knowledge of murder, torture, and planned assassinations were suppressed in order to maintain CNN’s Baghdad bureau.
In a shocking New York Times opinion piece, CNN’s chief news executive Eason Jordan has admitted that for the past decade the network has systematically covered up stories of Iraqi atrocities. Reports of murder, torture, and planned assassinations were suppressed in order to maintain CNN’s Baghdad bureau.
Read Jordan’s op-ed at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/11/opinion/11JORD.html
I don’t know.. I happen to disagree with the statement “bad, but not interesting” regarding a CNN personality caught with a bag of meth. All the sex apparatus aside, perhaps the meth explains the putrid behavior by CNN “personalities” lately. Geez.. some people get all the privilege and wealth you could want, and they still screw it up.
As far as the salicious details. Hmmmm… it seems too far fetched NOT to be true. I mean, who could make that stuff up?
“Well, considering CNN had a deal with Saddam to report only what he told them to report so they could keep their Bagdad bureau office open in the 1990’s”
*******************
Is there any evidence of this tantalizing fact?
Well, considering CNN had a deal with Saddam to report only what he told them to report so they could keep their Bagdad bureau office open in the 1990’s; I don’t even bother listening to CNN anymore. There are just Fox fans in this state.