🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <7ffabh$p9v@bonkers.taronga.com>,
peter@taronga.com (Peter da Silva) wrote:

>So in the paper publishing world, you're supposed to respond to defamation by
>going around to every individual news-stand and corner store in the country
>and individually notify them of it, and expect them to blithely throw out
>their stock of the paper or magazine containing the objectionable article?

In the paper publishing world, any retailer who sells an item containing a
libel is jointly responsible for uttering the libel and can be sued. I
forget whether or not it requires previous notification but I think not; in
broadcasting it certainly doesn't. If a broadcaster repeats somebody else's
item which contains a libel, they become jointly responsible for uttering
the libel whether or not the original item maker had already been sued.

One of the more famous incidents in the print world was when Scallywag
libelled John Major. He threatened to sue for libel any newsagent that sold
the edition that contained the libellous story. They all refused to sell
it, and Scallywag collapsed.

-- 
Peter