Judge: School Board Members Can’t Get Source Info From Editor
City Times Staff
A Wood Co. judge on Friday has ruled two members of the Stevens Point School Board will not be able to depose the City Times editor- at least for now.
Kim Shirek and Lisa Totten filed a defamation lawsuit as private citizens against Multi Media Channels LLC (MMC) and the Stevens Point City Times, with Editor-in-Chief Brandi Makuski listed as a named defendant.
Totten and Shirek filed their complaint with the Portage Co. Clerk of Courts on March 27, but the case was reassigned to Wood County. They are being represented by Fox, O’Neill & Shannon, S.C. of Milwaukee.
In their complaint, Shirek and Totten accuse Makuski of knowingly reporting false and defamatory statements in several articles dating back to November 2014.
Shirek and Totten also demanded Makuski disclose the identities of several unnamed sources used for verification in the articles, and had requested a deposition to ask Makuski about her sources.
Judge Todd P. Wolf ruled in favor a motion to quash that deposition, filed on behalf of Makuski and MMC by the Green Bay-based Conway, Olejniczak & Jerry, S.C.
Wolf said Makuski was operating with journalist privilege while gathering the news and is not required to reveal her sources.
Wolf has set a scheduling conference for July 10, should Shirek and Totten decide they want to continue with their defamation suit against the City Times. It was not immediately clear how they wished to proceed.
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