The Herald is officially on a libel losing streak. After the paper lost a $2.1 million verdict in a high-profile suit brought by Judge Ernest Murphy in Suffolk County earlier this year, a Barnstable County jury last week returned a $225,000 verdict against the paper for a 10-year-old story by Tom Mashberg that was found to have defamed a veterinarian. (The Herald has not yet decided whether to appeal the Murphy verdict.)
Today's
Herald story on the case focuses largely on the role of Bob Zelnick, the chairman of BU's Journalism Department, who accepted a fee to testify against the Herald in the case. I know Zelnick pretty well. I respect his judgment and ethics and don't believe this means he is some official enemy of the Herald. This story strikes me pretty much as red herring, although in his role as a media pundit and occasional panelist on Channel 2's "Beat the Press," Zelnick should probably disclose his role in the case should the subject of the Herald come up.