Date: Sep.

23, 2016
To: Dr. Swanson, Office of Communications
From: Alexandria Manriquez, Office of Communications
Communications Dept.
College Park, 427
Ext. 3875
alexmaynn22@csu.fullerton.edu
Subject: The Piney Woods Lumber Company Lawsuit
The Piney Woods Lumber Company has had surrounding issues
with their employees. Most recently, The Piney Woods Lumber
Company has suffered from a lawsuit, after one of their employees
sued the company for releasing a publication that documented the
workers long battle with alcoholism in order to attract more employees
into their alcohol treatment/recovery program. After reviewing Matt
Martinezs lawsuit against The Piney Woods Lumber Company, I believe
he had a just reason to bring the lawsuit under the Privacy Rights Law.
I am aware that Communication Law protects some areas of
privacy and the publication of facts tort discusses the disclosure of
information that is not newsworthy. In this instance, both the plaintiff
and the defendant have to prove that the information was not
newsworthy and therefore violated this law. I can assume that Martinez
filed the suit under this law because although he approved the
publication, he still decided to pursue legal action. I think Martinez felt
that Burruss and Jim Haskins violated his privacy by releasing too much
of his personal information to the public. The story was supposed to
get people to go to the alcohol treatment/recovery program, so I think
Martinez felt like they would only talk about his alcohol recovery
process, but they also gave more information in detail on his personal
life that he may have been uncomfortable sharing to the public.
I think in order to avoid any legal problems with Martinez,
Burruss and Haskins should have asked themselves what is
newsworthy. This can get complicated because what is newsworthy to
one person may not be newsworthy to another. Piney Woods, Burruss
and Haskins may believe they did nothing wrong because they got
permission from Martinez, but in the end it is all about newsworthiness
and making sure that you only share what is necessary.
I definitely do think that Burruss and Haskins should be held
liable as individuals. In this case, Martinez was their client and with any
client in the PR world it is important to be professional and make sure
you and your clients message is clear. Martinez confided in Burruss
and Haskins during the interview and probably felt like they violated

his privacy by not informing Martinez about all the information they
were going to publish in the story.
I believe one of the most important aspects of Public Relations is
keeping your client happy. Create a clear message from the beginning
and discuss the overall goal of both sides and come to an agreement.
They were not on the same page and there needed to have been
better communication to ensure a better outcome.