NEW JERSEY – In a case that might have something to say about whether bloggers can expect similar legal protections as the ones received by journalists, a NJ judge refused to reconsider an earlier ruling against private investigator and adult industry blogger Shellee Hale.The original ruling came after Hale was sued for slander by Too Much Media, makers of NATS, a popular software package used for running adult affiliate programs. As a protective move, Hale’s attorney Jeffrey Pollock argued unsuccessfully to Superior Judge Louis Locascio that Halle was a journalist and should be immune from being forced to reveal her sources. Locascio found that Halle was a blogger instead of a journalist, and that bloggers do not fall into the same category as journalists.
When Locascio retired, Pollock asked the new Superior Judge assigned to the case, Daniel Waldmen, to reconsider the decision – but according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger, Waldmen has declined that request. That means Halle and Pollock will now take their arguments to the Appellate Division for an appeal.
According to Halle, she was investigating Too Much Media for a story that she was writing for a planned publication “Pornafia,” which Halle said would expose some of the shadier dealings that happen in the adult Internet industry.
Halle was sued by Too Much Media, however, after she posted comments on an industry message board that included requests for anyone who had experienced problems with Too Much Media to contact her. According to NATS principals John Albright and Charles Berrebbi, Halle defamed their company when she suggested that NATS operators had engaged in intimidation tactics to silence critics. They say that Halle also claimed the company was violating NJ consumer protection laws.
Also at issue in this case is whether comments on message boards should fall under slander laws, which usually cover the spoken word, or libel laws, which cover the written word. Too Much Media is arguing that message board content is more akin to casual discussion than it is to written content like that found in publications or news stories.
