Media standing to challenge third-party gag orders
Overview
The Supreme Court has not addressed the issue, but lower courts have found that media organizations have standing to challenge gag orders on third parties. Thus, the court in CBS, Inc. v. Young, 522 F.2d 234, 237-38 (6th Cir. 1975) was not persuaded by the argument that petitioner lacks standing because it is not a party to the civil litigation. The fact remains that its ability to gather the news concerning the trial is directly impaired or curtailed. The protected right to publish the news would be of little value in the absence of sources from which to obtain it. Likewise, the court in In re Dow Jones & Co., Inc., 842 F.2d 603, 607-08 (2nd Cir. 1988) found that news agencies have standing as recipients of speech to prosecute this appeal, in part because they record showed they were potential recipients of speech.
Georgia
The right of the media to intervene in legal actions, where their newsgathering rights are burdened by court orders, is well established in Georgia. See, e.g., R.W. Page Corp. v. Lumpkin, 249 Ga. 576, 581 (1982); Atlanta Journal-Constitution v. State, 266 Ga. App. 168, 170 (2004) (holding that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB-TV had standing to challenge a gag order entered against trial participants and witnesses)
