Jensen v Nationwide News Pty Limited

In Jensen v Nationwide News Pty Limited, the Federal Court was presented with a dispute concerning the publication of allegedly defamatory material by a media corporation. The plaintiff, Jensen, sought to sue the defendant, Nationwide News, for defamation, claiming that statements published by the defendant's journalists were defamatory of his professional reputation. The defendant sought to strike out the plaintiff's statement of claim on the basis that it failed to disclose a cause of action, among other grounds.

The central legal issues the court had to decide were whether the plea of publication disclosed a cause of action, whether access to recordings constituted publication, and whether the imputations concerning the journalist's professional duty were capable of arising as false innuendo. The court also had to determine whether the pleaded imputations were sufficiently precise, and whether they could arise as true innuendo.

The court held that the plea of publication did disclose a cause of action, as the plaintiff's professional reputation was at stake and the statements were indeed published. The court also found that access to recordings did constitute publication, as the recordings were made available to the public. The court further held that the imputations concerning the journalist's professional duty could arise as false innuendo, as the statements could be understood to suggest that the journalist had acted unethically in their reporting. The court found that the pleaded imputations were sufficiently precise, and that they could also arise as true innuendo. The court ultimately dismissed the defendant's application to strike out the statement of claim.