I googled my name (who hasn't). My local news paper has a printed and internet version of a "squall line".. basically rants and raves in regards to community affairs. Back in September, I sent in a letter to the editor in regards to our local property tax issues, which was printed with my name. They always verify 1st before printing the "letters". "Squallors" however are not verified and printed both in the paper and on line...

So if a "squallor" submitts words like; bitter, resentfull, uneducated and idiot and then :YOUR NAME HERE. And it's available for all to see... is there a reason to pursue a case. I'm not a public official, but I am known within my community. And I feel publicly humilated.

Do I have any recourse?

You could always write a letter to the newspaper or even go there personally and ask them to remove what is available online. Usually though, as an example for you, there is some sort of notice like the following one for Letters to the Editor like what is found below, on the Los Angeles Times website. Please note the text that I have made bold.

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If you would like to make a comment about a specific news article, editorial or commentary and have it considered for publication in the newspaper as a Letter to the Editor, please send it to [Email Address] -- send well-written individual letters only; no group e-mails. Do not send attachments...

Letters should be brief, and may be edited. They become the property of The Times and may be republished in any format. Please include your full name, mailing address and daytime phone number (your number will not be published).

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Contacting the newspaper in some way that is your concern in your question may be worth a try. And, I would suggest you do that before taking any legal action, if taking legal action is something that you are considering.

Now, whether this is something that is worth pursuing, it might not be. A lot of things that are available online for newspaper articles just don't show up in searches after awhile because they are no longer available. Besides that, even if it is currently showing up online, what would be the probability that someone would be searching for your name in the context of what the letter is about? On what page in the search did it show up on? The results in searches can vary greatly day by day.

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Originally Posted by dh03marine

I feel publicly humilated...... Do I have any recourse?

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Hello marine:

You might. But, the devil is in the details. Before I can make that determination, I need more data.

Does your paper normally reprint letters to the editor as "squalls"? Do they have any fine print under the "squall" submission requirements? Do they differ from the letters to the editor submission requirements?

I'm trying to ascertain whether the paper made a mistake. If they did, then you have recourse - maybe not monetary at this point - but you may be able to stop them from doing it again.

If it WAS a mistake, then your rights were violated. However, in order to sue and prevail, you'll need to show specific monetary damages that you suffered as a result - like a contract that didn't renew or a job you lost.

excon

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Originally Posted by dh03marine

I googled my name (who hasn't). My local news paper has a printed and internet version of a "squall line"..basically rants and raves in regards to community affairs. Back in September, I sent in a letter to the editor in regards to our local property tax issues, which was printed with my name. They always verify 1st before printing the "letters". "Squallors" however are not verified and printed both in the paper and on line....

So if a "squallor" submitts words like; bitter, resentfull, uneducated and idiot and then :YOUR NAME HERE. And it's available for all to see....is there a reason to pursue a case. I'm not a public official, but I am known within my community. And I feel publicly humilated.

Do I have any recourse?

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I think even if you get the paper to pull your letter from their records you'll have a heck of a time removing it from the Internet. Once it's there, it's there.

(As others have said my local papers states very clearly that letters become the property of the newspaper.)

I hear a lot of horror stories, particularly from College students, who write letters on one subject or another and then suddenly they are professionals, their name gets googled and something really embarrassing shows up. And there's nothing they can do about it.

I am SURE your paper has a disclaimer that says any letters submitted become the property of the paper. So you really have no case since you gave them permission to use your letter as they saw fit.

Unless you are claiming that the letter isn't yours or they edited it to say things you hadn't said, you have no claim at all.