NBC Data on Wayne Newton Protected
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LAS VEGAS — The NBC television network is protected by Nevada’s shield law and does not have to identify confidential sources used in stories on entertainer Wayne Newton, a federal magistrate has ruled.
U.S. Magistrate Philip Pro said Thursday he believes Newton would have been entitled to the information on the sources had it not been for Nevada’s strong shield law which protects reporters’ sources.
Newton is suing the network for $6 million, claiming he was defamed in broadcasts which linked him to organized crime figures. The stories involved Newton’s purchase of the Aladdin Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. Broadcasts in 1980 and 1981 alleged that organized crime figures had hidden ownership in the resort.
Newton sold his interest in the resort in 1982.
The matter is scheduled to go to trial in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas next October.
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