Friday, December 05, 2008

CJR: Phoenix, USAT deny pre-pub review claim

Taser International asserts Gannett's two biggest newspapers agreed to show the controversial stun-gun maker any stories they wrote before publication, as part of a lawsuit settlement -- claims they deny, Columbia Journalism Review reports today. The papers are USA Today and The Arizona Republic.

Taser made the claims in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that CJR says amount to false statements. The trade publication's account is a fascinating inside glimpse at the machinations of lawsuits against newspapers -- and the settlements that sometimes follows.

[Photo: the X26 model stun gun, Taser International]

1 comment:

  1. This seems to be standard for Gannett. When it owned the Idaho Statesman it allowed Boise's largest employer to review stories about that company prior to publication. An editor at the Statesman resigned when he found out.

    ReplyDelete

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