A statement can be defamatory in all respects, but it must be about the plaintiff for a defamation suit to be successful. If the statement is not “of and concerning” (lawyer-speak for “about”) the plaintiff, the suit will not succeed.

Whether a statement is “of and concerning” the plaintiff is often subjective, which leaves a huge amount of grey area for courts and juries to navigate. However, there are a few standout cases that illuminate key issues to help juries…

People’s infatuation with fame surprises me. Growing up in Southern California I have been surrounded by the entertainment industry my entire life. I have worked in it, have friends in it and plan on making a career in it. however as much as I appreciate the industry, I can never seem to wrap my head around one thing. Why is everyone obsessed with being famous? While being famous does come with perks it also has a great deal of negative consequences.

The…

Macki Aycock, a student in Jon Pfeiffer’s Spring 2017 Media Law class at Pepperdine University, wrote the following essay in response to the prompt: With a flood of information constantly bombarding us, what tools or tricks do you use to manage the information?

The flood of information that bombards me mostly comes from TV, magazines, social media and school. As I have gotten older I have learned to manage this information in ways that makes my life less stimulating (in a good way),…