An appeals court has ruled against Santa Barbara News-Press co-publisher Wendy McCaw’s libel suit aimed at an American Journalism Review 2006 magazine article.

In a June 12 ruling, the court said McCaw failed to prove author Susan Paterno’s statements in the story were “provably false.” McCaw sued Paterno individually. That placed the burden of defense on Paterno. The magazine, which is published by the University of Maryland, reportedly offered to pay legal costs, also assuming heavy expenses.
Earlier in June, a Los Angeles federal judge ruled in favor of Ampersand Publishing,  parent company of the News-Press, and against the National Labor Relations Board. The NRLB argued that eight newsroom staffers had tried to dictate the editorial content of the News-Press over the objections of McCaw.