Freelance Writer Sues Newspaper for Defamation of Character

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that a defamation of character lawsuit against the Ames Tribune newspaper go forward. The lawsuit, according to the Associated Press is being brought by a former freelance writer for the paper, Todd Stevens.

The lawsuit involves a negative article in 2002 about the Iowa State University athletics department, written by Stevens, which editors at the Ames Tribune then declined to print. At issue are alleged comments by the editors that Stevens rarely attended the events about which he wrote.