--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a landmark ruling, New York Times v…" description: "\"“In a landmark ruling, New York Times v. Sullivan changed the standard for defamation and libel by requiring plaintiffs to prove malice--that is, evide..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/bryan-stevenson-4134_civil-rights_in-a-landmark-ruling-new-york-times-v-su_2068693.png" --- # In a landmark ruling, New York Times v. Sullivan changed… ![“In a landmark ruling, New York Times v. Sullivan changed the standard for defamation and libel by requiring plaintiffs to prove malice--that is, evidence of actual knowledge on the part of the publisher that a statement is false. The ruling marked a significant victory for freedom of the press…” quote by Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/bryan-stevenson-4134_civil-rights_in-a-landmark-ruling-new-york-times-v-su_2068693.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/bryan-stevenson-4134_civil-rights_in-a-landmark-ruling-new-york-times-v-su_2068693.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/bryan-stevenson-4134_civil-rights_in-a-landmark-ruling-new-york-times-v-su_2068693.png) > ““In a landmark ruling, New York Times v. Sullivan changed the standard for defamation and libel by requiring plaintiffs to prove malice--that is, evidence of actual knowledge on the part of the publisher that a statement is false. The ruling marked a significant victory for freedom of the press, and it liberated media outlets and publishers to talk more honestly about civil rights protests and activism. But in the South it generated even more contempt for the national press, and that animosity has lingered beyond the Civil Rights Era.”” [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes the impact of New York Times v. Sullivan on press freedom and civil rights, noting both empowerment and regional backlash. **In simple terms:** Landmark case expanded press freedom but sparked Southern resentment. Key Takeaway Recognize legal victories can have mixed societal effects. Themes law press freedom civil rights media Mood analytical critical Type historical legal When to use this quote - journalism - activism - legal advocacy Key Concepts constitutional law public opinion Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities accompany press freedom? - How can media rebuild trust in skeptical regions? A Different Perspective May understate ongoing media mistrust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civil Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-right/) [Civil rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights/) [Civil Rights Era](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights-era/) [Court cases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/court-cases/) [Freedom of the press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-of-the-press/) [Libel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libel/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [Publishers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publishers/) [Trials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trials/) [York Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/york-times/) ## Related quotes > [“Legal and political theory have committed much mischief by failing to pinpoint physical invasion as the only human action that should be illegal and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-n-rothbard/legal-and-political-theory-have-committed-much-mischief-by-failing-to/) [Murray N. Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-n-rothbard/) > [In America, racism exists but racists are all gone. Racists belong to the past. Racists are the thin-lipped mean white people in the movies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/in-america-racism-exists-but-racists-are-all-gone-racists-belong-to/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [My earliest memories are of the civil rights era. My earliest experiences were rage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-di-giovanni/my-earliest-memories-are-of-the-civil-rights-era-my-earliest/) [Janine di Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-di-giovanni/) > [In fifth grade, we did 10 minutes on slavery and 40 minutes on Abraham Lincoln, and in 10th grade you might do 10 minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/in-fifth-grade-we-did-10-minutes-on-slavery-and-40-minutes-on-abraham/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [“Racism is a complex and interconnected system that adapts to challenges over time. Colorblind ideology was a very effective adaptation to the challenges of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-diangelo/racism-is-a-complex-and-interconnected-system-that-adapts-to/) [Robin DiAngelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-diangelo/) > [Through the dark days of legalized segregation and on into the civil rights era, jazz shone as a beacon for achieving interracial respect and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-sandke/through-the-dark-days-of-legalized-segregation-and-on-into-the-civil/) Randy Sandke > [I was lucky I had a mom who had seen it all. From seeing my grandfather march in the Civil Rights era, she understood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-brogdon/i-was-lucky-i-had-a-mom-who-had-seen-it-all-from-seeing-my/) [Malcolm Brogdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-brogdon/) > [I was very much a part of the civil rights era, so, of course, my fantasy was to marry some outstanding black gentleman, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxie-roker/i-was-very-much-a-part-of-the-civil-rights-era-so-of-course-my/) [Roxie Roker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxie-roker/) > [America in the age of Donald Trump is more permissive of explicit racism than it's been at any point since the civil rights era.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamelle-bouie/america-in-the-age-of-donald-trump-is-more-permissive-of-explicit/) [Jamelle Bouie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamelle-bouie/) > [The demands of the Civil Rights era weren't limited to voting rights - they strove for an end to segregation in all aspects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-garza/the-demands-of-the-civil-rights-era-weren-t-limited-to-voting-rights/) [Alicia Garza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-garza/) > [A lot of things happened in a lot of places. And to see how well it was handled in Atlanta. There are a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lot-of-things-happened-in-a-lot-of-places-and-to-see-how-well-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Many thought that the abolition of slavery, the end of Jim Crow, and the legislative progress of the Civil Rights Era, among other watershed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/many-thought-that-the-abolition-of-slavery-the-end-of-jim-crow-and/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [When people discuss the 1960s and the great Civil Rights Era, they often speak in romantic terms as if there wasn't immense work put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-sharpton/when-people-discuss-the-1960s-and-the-great-civil-rights-era-they/) [Al Sharpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-sharpton/) > [And to me, that's why the civil rights era is about the future, not about the past, because it's great lessons of how citizens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-branch/and-to-me-that-s-why-the-civil-rights-era-is-about-the-future-not/) [Taylor Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-branch/) > [There is this pressure for us to only tell stories about slavery and the civil rights era, but there are many of us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-dacosta/there-is-this-pressure-for-us-to-only-tell-stories-about-slavery-and/) [Nia DaCosta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-dacosta/) ## More by Bryan Stevenson > [I love museums, and I think they're fantastic, but they don't touch the people who I frequently think need to be touched with at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/i-love-museums-and-i-think-they-re-fantastic-but-they-don-t-touch-the/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [I've come to understand and to believe that each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done. I believe that for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/i-ve-come-to-understand-and-to-believe-that-each-of-us-is-more-than/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [I'm persuaded that if most people saw what I see on a regular basis, they would want change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/i-m-persuaded-that-if-most-people-saw-what-i-see-on-a-regular-basis/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [When you come to Montgomery, you see fifty-nine monuments and memorials, all about the Civil War, all about Confederate leaders and generals. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/when-you-come-to-montgomery-you-see-fifty-nine-monuments-and/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [“These aren’t my scars, cuts, and bruises. These are my medals of honor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/these-aren-t-my-scars-cuts-and-bruises-these-are-my-medals-of-honor/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [The Bureau of Justice reports that one in three black male babies born this century will go to jail or prison - that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/the-bureau-of-justice-reports-that-one-in-three-black-male-babies/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [If you're just the person with power, exercising that power fearfully and angrily, you're going to be an operative of injustice and inequality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/if-you-re-just-the-person-with-power-exercising-that-power-fearfully/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [In a landscape littered with all of this imagery about the nobility of the Civil War and the Confederate effort and struggle, the absence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/in-a-landscape-littered-with-all-of-this-imagery-about-the-nobility/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [If you love your community, then you need to be insisting on justice in all circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/if-you-love-your-community-then-you-need-to-be-insisting-on-justice/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [There was never a time you could get the majority of people in Alabama or Mississippi, or even southern Delaware, to vote to end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/there-was-never-a-time-you-could-get-the-majority-of-people-in/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [I talk about my grandmother a lot, because she's an amazing person - not in some dramatic, distinct, unique way, but anybody who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/i-talk-about-my-grandmother-a-lot-because-she-s-an-amazing-person-not/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [You can't understand what happened to Michael Brown in Ferguson, you can't understand what happened to Eric Garner in New York City, without understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/you-can-t-understand-what-happened-to-michael-brown-in-ferguson-you/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [I know this might be broadcast broadly. But I'm 52 years old, and I'm going to admit to you that I've never had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/i-know-this-might-be-broadcast-broadly-but-i-m-52-years-old-and-i-m/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [Are you the sum total of your worst acts?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/are-you-the-sum-total-of-your-worst-acts/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [If we want to be proud of our country, if we want to be proud as Americans, if we want to be proud of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/if-we-want-to-be-proud-of-our-country-if-we-want-to-be-proud-as/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) [Explore all 115 Bryan Stevenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) ## More Civil rights quotes > [Every one knows that the exercise of military power is forever dangerous to civil rights; and we have had recent instances of violences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/every-one-knows-that-the-exercise-of-military-power-is-forever/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I speak not for myself, but so those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights. Their right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/i-speak-not-for-myself-but-so-those-without-a-voice-can-be-heard/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. I think more important than me preaching is that we as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-patriot-act-is-certainly-a-concern-all-of-those-things-are/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/american-civil-rights-leader-where-do-we-go-from-here-chaos-or/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“Why do we apologize for advocating for ourselves? Why do we apologize for taking up space that we are entitled to? Why do we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-tambascio/why-do-we-apologize-for-advocating-for-ourselves-why-do-we-apologize/) Elizabeth Tambascio > [We are a nation of innovators and problem-solvers who sparked revolutions in democratic government, civil rights, communications, flight, rural electrification and technology. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-a-mcchrystal/we-are-a-nation-of-innovators-and-problem-solvers-who-sparked/) [Stanley A. McChrystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-a-mcchrystal/) > [“Mental illness is not something you misunderstand in this era. Get educated because bias is no different than racism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/mental-illness-is-not-something-you-misunderstand-in-this-era-get/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Civil rights leaders are involved in helping poor people. That's what I've been doing all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/civil-rights-leaders-are-involved-in-helping-poor-people-that-s-what/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [I grew up in the early '60s, and there was a lot of civil rights, a lot of unrest in our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herm-edwards/i-grew-up-in-the-early-60s-and-there-was-a-lot-of-civil-rights-a-lot/) [Herm Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herm-edwards/) > [The great paradox of the civil rights revolution is that instead of enforcing and expanding equality before the law, the revolution created differential rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-great-paradox-of-the-civil-rights-revolution-is-that-instead-of/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [The world - and America - has been defined by people who haven't necessarily abided by the laws and the rules. Civil disobedience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-kennedy/the-world-and-america-has-been-defined-by-people-who-haven-t/) [Rory Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-kennedy/) > [I do not believe that defending traditional marriage between one man and one woman excludes anybody or usurps anybody's civil rights and denies anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-autry/i-do-not-believe-that-defending-traditional-marriage-between-one-man/) [Alan Autry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-autry/) > [Truth is on the side of the oppressed today, it's against the oppressor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/truth-is-on-the-side-of-the-oppressed-today-it-s-against-the-oppressor/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [The notion of women being written out of history is as old as the Bible, but it always seems more galling when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thornberry/the-notion-of-women-being-written-out-of-history-is-as-old-as-the/) [Emily Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thornberry/) [Browse all 1,552 Civil rights quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In a landmark ruling, New York Times v. 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