Lawton v. Georgia Television Co.

Andrews, Judge.

This case arose from Georgia Television Company’s (d/b/a WSB-TV) broadcast of a news series called “Dirty Little Secrets.” That series centered around allegations that National Guard Lieutenant Colonel Julius Lawton, the Recruiting and Retention officer, sexually harassed female personnel.

The focus of the series, which was prepared and presented by Richard Belcher, a reporter and anchor for WSB, was the findings of an official National Guard investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment. That investigation consisted of a report, begun in May 1991 by Lieutenant Colonel…