Where a journalist does not intend to convey the imputation found by the jury, the defence of statutory qualified privilege under s 22(1)(c) of the Defamation Act 1974 (NSW) requires the defendant to establish that its conduct was reasonable in relation to the unintended imputation actually conveyed, not merely in relation to the intended imputation. A journalist's failure to give any thought to the possibility that an article conveys a more serious imputation, and failure to take steps to prevent it, constitutes a deficiency so marked that the defence will fail.
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