Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn

The Supreme Court's acceptance of the case to the docket signified a new willingness to examine issues involving privacy and the media. There were several prior decisions applicable in the Cox case. One involved what is known in legal circles as the "Sullivan Standard." In a 1964 U.S. Supreme Court decision on libel, New York Times v. Sullivan, the Court asserted that a public person could not claim damages from a media organization for a unflattering news story--unless the plaintiff could first prove it was false, and that the newspaper knew it was false or acted in reckless disregard for the truth. In the Cox case, Martin Cohn could not dispute the fact that Wassell, on behalf of WSB, had reported something that was "false," in this case the name of his daughter. Furthermore, the gleaning of Cynthia Cohn's name did not occur under deceptive or otherwise illegal pretenses.