Barber v. Gillett Communications of Atlanta, Inc.

Beasley, Chief Judge.

Barber sued Gillett Communications, d/b/a WAGA-TV, for defamation claiming that the television station prepared and broadcast a report which implied Barber had committed a crime. The report primarily concerned the comments of an elected official, Billy McKinney, as they concerned the criminal mistrial of Frank Redding, another elected official. McKinney believed Redding and other elected officials were the object of racially motivated selective prosecution. Both Redding and McKinney are African-American. The report discussed prior prosecutions against both black and white…