[Section 15] My interview for The National

As you may know, I am being sued by Wayne Crookes for libel. He is also suing Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia, Pbwiki.com, Openpolitics, P2Pnet, various Green Party of Canada activists, Michael Geist and several anonymous persons. I wrote on the matter here.

Several of us have banded together and are actively fundraising all over North America. A necessary part of that has included media relation endeavors.

Well, we got a hit.

Leslie Mackinnon is a veteran reporter for The National, covering the federal political scene. She got in touch with us as she's doing a story on libel chill and the Internet. We agreed to be interviewed so we could discuss the delicate position we find ourselves in.

Where we sit is delicate because we all want to discuss the important issues these lawsuits raise; however to discuss them is to raise the possibility of other libel claims being filed.

I know that most people think that libel is something drastic and obvious. In Canada, however, libel is so backwards that it can be found in the most innocent-appearing material because the standard for arguing libel is so low. Basically, if you make any negative comment about anyone, the accusation can be made that you have libeled. Now, that doesn't mean you're guilty -- libel claims certainly can be defended against -- but the more claims there are, the more money you'll need, and you never can be too sure of the outcome of a trial. And repeating libels can take on the odor of maliciousness, which, in Canada, completely destroys any possible defense save parliamentary privilege, which I, of course, do not have.

Not long ago, libel chill was not something a common person experienced because common people were not publishing. Now we are and so are exposed to the pitfalls of hundreds of years of antiquated law designed to protect aristocratic authority. Mackinnon wanted to know how this lawsuit is affecting our lives.

(This was not something I was expecting to find inside a political Party which has in its constitution the principles of participatory democracy and social justice, but I digress...)

I found the interview difficult. Despite having media relations training, and despite having lots to say, I feel that I rambled. I think I had far too much to say. I missed many opportunities to place some succinct words before the camera. After the interview was over we talked for 20 minutes more, and even debated on a few points.

If the case makes it to trial (and I intend it to take it that far), I hope she'll give it coverage. Journalists are tracking the story, that much is sure.

I'm not sure when the piece will air, or if I'll even be in it. When I now, I'll drop a note here.

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Where have I been? Well, aside from being busy with work and kids, I've been working hard on this lawsuit. A trust fund has been established and in a few weeks we expect a site up and running to take donations from the public and to advocate for libel law reform. I hope my fellow bloggers will be generous. I'm fighting for your freedoms as well, after all.

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Posted By Mark Francis to Section 15 at 7/10/2007 08:50:00 PM