LEGAL FILE

Several news organizations have joined NBC in appealing the network’s multimillion-dollar libel loss to entertainer Wayne Newton. A federal jury in Las Vegas awarded Newton $19.3 million in damages over allegations that NBC libeled him by linking him to mob figures. A federal judge later reduced the award to $5.3 million. NBC has appealed the verdict to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, saying the award to Newton was “excessive and insupportable.” Among others filing “friends of the court” briefs are CBS, Capital Cities/ABC, the Gannett Co., the New York Times Company, Dow Jones & Co., Copley Press and Chronicle Publishing. Newton’s attorney consented to the other media supporting NBC so that the appeals court could be “presented with all possible arguments.”