Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- June 8, 2021
- Targets
- Derek Dalton (WBBM-TV)
- Legal Orders
-
-
subpoena
for
communications or work product
- June 8, 2021: Pending
- Nov. 8, 2021: Objected to
- April 29, 2022: Ignored
-
subpoena
for
communications or work product
- Legal Order Target
- Journalist
- Legal Order Venue
- Federal
Subpoena/Legal Order
A portion of the subpoena issued to the former president and general manager of CBS2 News seeking unpublished video and audio footage as part of a lawsuit against the Chicago Department of Education.
Chicago CBS station ordered to turn over raw interview footage
CBS-owned WBBM-TV appealed an order requiring the broadcaster to turn over unpublished interviews as part of an ongoing lawsuit, but on Oct. 20, 2022, a judge in Chicago, Illinois, dismissed its arguments, according to court records reviewed by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
The station and two of its journalists — President and General Manager Derek Dalton and investigative reporter Dave Savini — were served identical subpoenas in 2021 seeking the footage from Savini’s interviews with a child who was allegedly beaten in a school bathroom and the child’s relative, who is accused of the assault.
WBBM-TV sent a letter objecting to all of the subpoenas in November 2021, but later that month the attorneys representing the child’s mother asked the court to compel the outlet to comply with a narrowed version of the subpoena.
A magistrate judge upheld the subpoena issued to WBBM-TV on April 29, 2022, and ordered the outlet to turn over the interview footage and audio by May 13. Neither Dalton nor Savini was mentioned in the order or any subsequent filings; the Tracker is therefore classifying the subpoenas issued to each as “ignored.”
On May 10, the station appealed the ruling, arguing that the materials were protected by a federal reporter’s privilege and that disclosure would jeopardize the broadcaster’s ability to gather and report news to the public.
U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman overruled the outlet’s objections on Oct. 20, ordering it to produce the video footage by Oct. 28. No further filings appealing the order were filed by WBBM-TV, indicating that the outlet complied with the order.
On June 8, 2021, a subpoena seeking reporting materials was issued to Derek Dalton as part of his former role as president and general manager of CBS2 News in Chicago, Illinois.
According to court documents, subpoenas identical to Dalton’s were served on the same date to CBS2 News’ parent company, Viacom CBS, reporter Dave Savini, and a non-entity as part of a lawsuit brought by a mother on behalf of her son who was allegedly beaten in a school bathroom with belts provided by his teacher, and the child’s relative, who is accused of the assault. All demanded footage from an interview with the child and with the relative, who answered questions from Savini after leaving a criminal court. CBS 2 aired a segment with the interviews in February 2019.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit eventually withdrew the subpoena issued to Viacom-CBS on Oct. 21, redirecting it to CBS Broadcasting, Inc. (CBS2) and reissuing the subpoena to Dalton and Savini. Lawyers to the plaintiff also agreed to narrow the scope of the subpoenas, demanding only the video and audio outtake recordings of the interviews.
In objecting to the subpoenas, attorneys for CBS claimed Dalton was not currently employed by the company and was not an employee when he was issued the subpoena. The current status of Dalton’s subpoena is unknown but a motion to compel CBS2 to produce the footage was ultimately upheld on April 29, 2022.
In her decision to uphold the outlet’s subpoena, United States Magistrate Judge Sheila Finnegan wrote that “there is no federal common-law reporter’s privilege applicable in this case, and CBS 2 cannot withhold the requested audio/video outtakes on this basis.” The court ordered the outlet to produce the unreleased footage by May 13, 2022.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
