Last night, I watched Sydney Pollack’s film, “Absence of Malice,” with Paul Newman and Sally Field. She’s a newspaper reporter who prints a front-page story accusing local businessman Newman of criminal activity without any back up of official sources or evidence.
Next morning, breakfasting at Coogie’s, I read the Malibu Times front page headline, “Malibu Stage Co. sued by actress,” sensationalizing a small claims dispute not yet heard, that clearly gives our pro-active community theatre a pre-trial smear. How can you “dis” a volunteer, no salary outfit so eagerly?
And like “Absence of Malice,” when the books are presented, and the court finds for The Malibu Stage Co., will this sensation-seeking weekly cover more than a single back page paragraph?
Really, you guys, when’s the last time small claims hit the front page – before the court date?
Peter Fleming