1.  A yearbook staff printed quotations from plays, the play's title and the author's name under senior pictures. Under one girl's photo they printed 'A soft, meek patient, humble, tranquil . . . spirit.' Thomas Bekker,"the Honest Whore, "Act I, Scene II."

2. An editorial charged a principal with "nearsighted decisions" and running the school like a "prison camp." The editorial ended, "The only way the school can improve is to get rid of the principal. Stupidity and ignorance should not be qualifications to run a school."

3. A New York high school yearbook printed a girl's picture with a biographical sketch titled, "I'm Easy." the yearbook staff  claimed that students were asked to choose song titles that best described their personalities, and the girl chose "I'm Easy." they had the original biography in the student's handwriting and a release signed by her mother.    

4. A school newspaper carried a letter accusing a student body officer of using the school computer to change his grade. Staff members said they were not responsible because they did not write the letter.

5. A student newspaper printed the following headline and story lead:

Police Nab Drug Dealer
"In a sweep across campus yesterday, police arrested several students, charging them with dealing drugs.  Arrested were Bill Jones, 16 sophomore, and three students from a community college: John Renshaw, Charles Ortega and Ross Smith. 

 If these scenarios are libel or not. Explain why the situation would or would not be libel and if the yearbook advisor and staff could be in violation of libel.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Libel Analysis of the Scenarios 1 Play Quote Not libelous The quote describes a fictional character not the student Even if the quote vaguely resemble... View the full answer