Media Communications

Wyatt has a long, distinguished history in the field of communications law. Our attorneys have represented clients both inside and outside the communications industry on matters ranging from defamation defense to open records litigation to mergers, acquisitions and regulatory work.

First Amendment/Media Law
For decades, Wyatt has served its clients’ varied needs in the area of First Amendment and media law and continues to do so today. Our attorneys have experience with such First Amendment issues as defamation, privacy, open records, open meetings, and access to courts. Our extensive background includes:

• Defending newspapers and broadcasters in defamation and invasion of privacy litigation.
• Keeping reporters and news directors updated on potential liability associated with newsgathering in general and counseling on specific newsgathering issues as they arise.
• Providing around-the-clock prepublication advice to media clients.
• Asserting media clients’ rights regarding access to public records and public meetings under state and federal law, as well as access to court proceedings and records.
• Assisting media clients with responses and/or opposition to newsroom subpoenas.

We are proud of our resume of past and present media representation. Currently, the Firm serves as General Counsel to television stations in Louisville and Lexington Kentucky. Other media clients have included Paramount Pictures, The Louisville Courier-Journal, the Kentucky Press Association, the Associated Press, as well as numerous local newspapers and radio stations.

Attorneys in our Communications Group are long-time, active members of the Media Law Resource Center (MLRC) and its Defense Counsel Section. We author and update yearly the Kentucky Law Outlines in two MLRC publications: Media Libel Law and Employment Libel and Privacy Law. We have also authored outlines and lectured extensively on the Kentucky Open Records and Open Meetings laws.

Telecommunications
The Firm has represented a variety of companies in the telecommunications industry. We represented the Public Broadcasting System in litigation in Louisville. We have also handled numerous matters before the Public Service Commissions in Kentucky and Tennessee, and have represented both local exchange and interexchange carriers, as well other providers, such as cellular telephone services, paging companies and satellite transponder services.