Press Clips

ABSENCE OF MALICE

When Mobil Corp. President William Tavoulareas won a $2.05 million libel judgment last year against the Washington Post, attorneys for the newspaper predicted that the jury's finding would be set aside by the judge who tried the case. They were right: last week Federal District Judge Oliver Gasch threw out the verdict. Tavoulareas is a "public figure," Gasch ruled, and thus was required to prove that the Post knew its story was false or showed reckless disregard for its accuracy. Said Gasch: "There is no evidence that the editors responsible for the article ever doubted its truthfulness."

The suit stemmed from a two-part 1979 article that charged Tavoulareas "set up" his son Peter in a shipping company financed by Mobil. The venture, launched in 1974, made Peter, now 33, a wealthy man. Post reporters and editors admitted that the story inaccurately faulted Mobil for violating a federal disclosure rule that applied only to family members who live under the same roof; Peter Tavoulareas did not live with his father. Noted Judge Gasch: "The article falls far short of being a model of fair, unbiased journalism." Post Executive Editor Ben Bradlee was more upbeat: "We are delighted our reporting was vindicated. It is a great day for newspapers."

Tavoulareas has until June 1 to appeal Gasch's decision.

WRITERS' RIGHTS

Few groups seem harder to unionize than freelance writers: the very label conveys an aura of individualism, and many freelancers approach getting published less as a job than as a spiritual quest. But last week a fledgling National Writers Union framed a constitution and elected officers from among 1,500 dues-paying members, including Novelist Kurt Vonnegut and Journalist Studs Terkel. Said President Andrea Eagan, a feminist writer: "Without top names we would be like a baseball union without Reggie Jackson."

The union already has won a two-year "working agreement" from the San Francisco-based leftist monthly Mother Jones. Among the guarantees, which apply to all freelancers, not just N.W.U. members: a $1,000 minimum fee for a feature article; only one rewrite without additional pay; full payment if the magazine accepts the story but drops the subject; notification about major editing. Said Mother Jones Editor Deirdre English: "The union's concerns are legitimate."

Other magazine and book publishers reject the writers' proposals as unjustified because freelancers are self-employed. Indeed, the new group's Manhattan-based consulting attorney, Lewis Steel, concedes, "The National Labor Relations Board may not recognize the union. But it still has the right to bargain." . This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.