Siegal called Ellis' ruling "a marvelous decision for the media industry." The magistrate judge, he added, "faithfully followed the circuit's decision in the Berlinger case and limited that case to its perhaps unique circumstances."
Siegal added that Ellis declined to examine New York's shield law, saying only that it is consistent with the federal common law.
"He was articulating and protecting New York's robust tradition of protection for journalistic freedom," Siegal said.
In a statement, Celeste Koeleveld, executive assistant corporation counsel, said, "While journalistic privilege under the law is very important, we firmly believe it did not apply here. This film is a one-sided advocacy piece that depicts the plaintiffs' version of events as undisputed fact. It is our view that we should be able to view the complete interviews, not just those portions that the filmmakers chose to include."
@|Mark Hamblett can be contacted at mhamblett@alm.com.
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