Secret Newspaper Conspiracy Meeting Probably Not Illegal
Yesterday, executives from most of America’s biggest newspapers held a hush-hush meeting about the future of their dying industry. Isn’t that basically, obviously, a huge violation of antitrust laws, probably? No, thanks to the corporatefreedom-supporting US Court!
Slate talked to some actual antitrust lawyers about this meeting (which had an antitrust lawyer sitting in on the whole thing). Turns out that a few years ago you could have dragged the whole industry into court over this, but now, it’s A-Ok!
But [the lawyers] both agree that the Supreme Court’s 2007 decision in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly changed the game by requiring plaintiffs to include more concrete evidence of wrongdoing in their initial pleadings. Bare-bones allegations, with speculation piled on top of inferential leap, no longer cut it, at least in federal court. “Two years ago a meeting among competitors followed by parallel price increases would have led to a class action,” says Blecher. “Today, there’s at least a 50/50 chance [such allegations] would not meet the Twombly requirements.”
So this private meeting of top executives from the industry’s largest companies that the sponsoring body, the Newspaper Association of America, would not even acknowledge happened until after it was over, where they discussed, in general, ways to get more money from consumers, was probably legal, allegedly.
You don’t need fancy lawyers to tell you that. Just check out the name: “Models to Lawfully Monetize Content.” Lawfully! Case dismissed.
[Slate, AP, Nieman Lab. Pic: Flickr]
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
@Tremonius: It's OK, Trey. Once you grow up you'll understand these things.
Moriturus
@Tremonius: Informers and Informants, they're everywhere! In your printing presses, in your food additives.
Didn't this happen already and wasn't it a scene in Newsies? I'm quite sure it did and it involved a cigar-smoke laden poker game and Robert Duvall was there.
That socialist, activist Court *really* needs to get their ducks in a row.
Seems kind of silly to wait until nobody can afford online content to charge for it.
reggattagirl
I cannot follow economics.
Once upon a time the FDA or one of them mounted a James Bond action to entrap AMD for international grain price fixing. They spent a bazillion on the sting and recovered a buck ninety eight after taxes, plus their prime mole went to jail. (He also bit on the Nigerian gold spam, but that's another story.)
Along about that time, or another one, Treasury Secretary O'Neal was not happy that Dohbya intended buying votes in Ohio and PA with a steel quota or tariff. That ain't the Repugnant way, says O'Neil, better to conspire with other steel exporters to set a price.
In other words, the Sec of Treasury was recommending price fixing.
I'm lost.
That just might work. Just ask the Prime Minister.
+ Watch video
frankwolftown
Here is an idea - take a page from the UK and start having page 3 girls. That would attract a whole new demographic.