On the evening of March 21, CNN published an article on its website announcing it faced a defamation lawsuit from Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann. The report, which came more than a week after Sandmann’s initial filing on March 12, was the first article in which the cable network acknowledged the suit. As of 10:00 a.m. on March 22, CNN still has not given the lawsuit any televised airtime.
The CNN.com piece provided a link to Sandmann’s complaint, though it did not inform readers of the March 12 filing date. The article referenced an official statement by CNN claiming the network was “reviewing the lawsuit.”
That statement continued:
CNN reported on a newsworthy event and public discussion about it, taking care to report on additional facts as they developed and to share the perspectives of eyewitnesses and other participants and stakeholders as they came forward.
