Correction Demands to News Outlets

When a false statement appears in a local paper, on a news website or in a radio or television broadcast, one California statute changes the rules for any claim against the outlet. It is Civil Code 48a, and it applies whenever a defamation claim covered by our other personal injuries practice is aimed at a daily or weekly news publication or a broadcaster. Its 20-day window is far shorter than the one-year deadline to sue, and missing it can take most of the value out of a claim.

This guide explains which outlets the statute covers, how to write and serve the demand, what counts as an adequate correction, and what happens to your damages either way.

How does a correction demand work, step by step?

Confirm the outlet is covered. Section 48a covers libel in a daily or weekly news publication and slander by radio broadcast (Civil Code 48a(a)). A news publication may be "in print or electronic form," must contain news on matters of public concern, and must publish at least once a week (Civil Code 48a(d)(5)). "Radio broadcast" includes visual broadcasting, meaning television (Civil Code 48.5(4)).
Write the notice. It must be in writing, specify the statements claimed to be libelous, and demand that those statements be corrected (Civil Code 48a(a)).
Serve it at the right place. Serve the publisher at the place of publication, or the broadcaster at the place of broadcast (Civil Code 48a(a)).
Do it within 20 days. The notice must be served within 20 days after you learn of the publication or broadcast (Civil Code 48a(a)).
Wait three weeks. The outlet has until a regular issue or broadcast within three weeks after service to publish a correction "in substantially as conspicuous a manner" in the same publication or on the same station (Civil Code 48a(b)).
Measure what you can recover. If the demand was timely and no adequate correction followed, you may recover general, special and exemplary damages, provided you plead and prove notice, demand and failure to correct (Civil Code 48a(b)). If not, only special damages.
File within the year. The correction process does not extend the one-year deadline for libel and slander (Code of Civil Procedure 340(c)). Our guide to California personal injury deadlines sets it beside the other limits.

What can I recover with and without a correction demand?

Type of damages	What it covers	When it is available against a covered outlet	Source
Special damages	Proven losses to property, business, trade, profession or occupation, including money spent because of the libel, and no other	Always, if proven, with or without a demand	Civil Code 48a(a) and (d)(2)
General damages	Loss of reputation, shame, mortification and hurt feelings	Only if a timely demand was served and no adequate correction was published within three weeks	Civil Code 48a(b) and (d)(1)
Exemplary (punitive) damages	Damages to punish and make an example of a defendant	Only after an unanswered timely demand, and only with proof of actual malice, in the court's or jury's discretion	Civil Code 48a(b), (d)(3) and (d)(4)
A correction published before any demand	Treated the same as a correction published within three weeks after a demand	Limits recovery as if the outlet had corrected on demand	Civil Code 48a(c)

Why does the demand matter so much?

For many people harmed by a false news story, the biggest loss is not a canceled contract. It is the damage to their name and the shame and distress that follow. Section 48a classifies exactly those harms as "general damages": "loss of reputation, shame, mortification, and hurt feelings" (Civil Code 48a(d)(1)). Without a timely demand, those damages are off the table against a covered outlet.

Special damages are narrow by definition. They are the losses the plaintiff alleges and proves "in respect to his or her property, business, trade, profession, or occupation," including money spent as a result of the libel, "and no other" (Civil Code 48a(d)(2)). The jury instruction on retraction tells jurors that against a news publication or broadcaster, the plaintiff may recover only those two kinds of loss unless the correction requirements are proven (CACI 1709). For how juries approach harm that has no bill attached, see how pain and suffering is valued.

What should the demand say, and where does it go?

The statute's requirements are short: a written notice, specifying the statements claimed to be libelous, demanding that they be corrected, served on the publisher at the place of publication or the broadcaster at the place of broadcast, within 20 days (Civil Code 48a(a)). The Judicial Council's notes to CACI 1709 say the judge decides whether the demand was served in compliance with the statute, so precision matters.

In practice, a clear demand identifies the outlet, the date and title of the article or broadcast, and quotes each statement you want corrected. It is reasonable to explain briefly why each statement is false, which helps the outlet decide whether to correct, although the statute does not require an explanation. Keep a copy of the demand and proof of the date and place it was delivered. Messages to a reporter's social media account, or a phone call to the newsroom, do not match the statute's words.

A defamation claim against a news outlet can also raise the anti-SLAPP statute, which protects statements made in connection with a public issue (Code of Civil Procedure 425.16(e)). Read the anti-SLAPP fee risk in a defamation case before relying on the demand as the only preparation.

What counts as an adequate correction?

The correction must be published or broadcast "in substantially as conspicuous a manner" as the original, in the same daily or weekly news publication or on the same station, in a regular issue or broadcast within three weeks after the demand was served (Civil Code 48a(b)). A front-page story followed by a single line deep inside a later issue may not meet that standard.

A correction also has to actually correct. A decision the Judicial Council quotes under CACI 1709 says that "an equivocal or incomplete retraction obviously serves no purpose" even if it is placed conspicuously. If the outlet publishes something it calls a correction, save it with its date and placement, and compare it to the statements you identified.

What if I found out about the story late?

The 20 days run from your knowledge of the publication or broadcast (Civil Code 48a(a)), and the jury instruction describes it as a demand made "within 20 days of discovering the statement" (CACI 1709). Learning of a story late does not cost you the correction demand.

The lawsuit deadline works differently. The one-year limit for libel generally runs from when a newspaper is first generally distributed, and the Judicial Council's notes to CACI 1722 say the delayed discovery rule does not apply to newspapers. Someone who learns of an article ten months after it ran may still have time to demand a correction but only about two months left to file. See how long you have to sue for defamation.

What changes the answer?

The outlet is not a daily or weekly news publication. The definition requires news on matters of public concern and publication at least once a week (Civil Code 48a(d)(5)). A book or a monthly magazine does not meet the once-a-week requirement, and a private message or personal post that is not a news publication falls outside it as well, so section 48a does not limit damages against them.

The outlet corrected on its own. A conspicuous correction published before any demand has the same effect as one published within three weeks after a demand (Civil Code 48a(c)).

A guest or caller made the statement on the air. A station owner or operator is not liable for a defamatory statement by someone else in a broadcast if it proves it exercised due care to prevent it (Civil Code 48.5(1)).

The story reported on a court case or public meeting. A fair and true report in a public journal of a judicial, legislative or other official proceeding is privileged (Civil Code 47(d)), as is a fair and true report of a lawful public meeting (Civil Code 47(e)).

You want punitive damages. Even after an unanswered demand, exemplary damages require proof of actual malice, defined as hatred or ill will toward you, and a good faith belief in the truth of the statement is not actual malice (Civil Code 48a(b) and (d)(4)).

What could this look like? An example

For example, imagine a Cotati shop owner. On a Thursday, a weekly online news site that covers Sonoma County publishes an article wrongly saying her shop was cited for selling counterfeit goods. A customer shows it to her on the following Monday.

Her 20 days run from that Monday. She writes a notice that identifies the article, quotes the two false sentences and demands a correction, and has it delivered to the publisher's office with proof of the delivery date. Two weeks later the site adds a line at the bottom of an unrelated page saying the article "may have contained errors." That note is neither substantially as conspicuous as the original nor a clear correction, so she may be able to seek general damages for harm to her reputation in addition to her lost sales, if she proves the rest of her claim. Her one-year deadline to sue still runs from the Thursday the article was first published. This example is made up to show how the rules fit together; it says nothing about any real case.

What mistakes do people make with correction demands?

Calling the newsroom or commenting under the article instead of serving a written notice.
Sending a general complaint that does not specify which statements are false.
Delivering the notice to a reporter's personal account instead of the place of publication or broadcast.
Waiting more than 20 days while hoping the outlet will fix the story on its own.
Accepting a buried or vague note as a correction without saving its date and placement.
Assuming the correction process pauses the one-year deadline to file.

What should I do this week?

Write down the date you first learned of the story and how, and count 20 days from it.
Save the article or broadcast: screenshots with the date and web address, a printed copy, or a recording.
Find the outlet's place of publication or broadcast from its masthead, website or station information.
Draft a written notice that names the article or broadcast and quotes each statement you want corrected.
Serve it in a way that gives you proof of the date and place of delivery, and keep a copy.
Mark three weeks after service on your calendar, and save anything the outlet publishes in response.
Gather proof of money losses, and bring everything on our list of what to bring to a first meeting with a lawyer.

Frequently asked questions

Does section 48a apply to a television station?

Yes. For this part of the Civil Code, "radio," "radio broadcast" and "broadcast" include both visual and sound broadcasting (Civil Code 48.5(4)). The Judicial Council's notes to CACI 1709 say the same.

Does it apply to a news website with no print edition?

It can. A daily or weekly news publication may be in print or electronic form, if it contains news on matters of public concern and publishes at least once a week (Civil Code 48a(d)(5)).

Can I still sue if the outlet publishes a proper correction?

Yes, but against that outlet you would be limited to special damages, meaning proven losses to your property, business, trade, profession or occupation (Civil Code 48a(a) and (d)(2)). Your other proof requirements stay the same.

Does the 20-day rule apply to the person who gave the reporter the false information?

Section 48a speaks to actions for damages for publication of a libel in a news publication or a slander by radio broadcast. Whether and how it affects a claim against a source who is not the publisher is a legal question to raise early with your lawyer.

Is emotional distress included in general damages?

Section 48a defines general damages as loss of reputation, shame, mortification and hurt feelings (Civil Code 48a(d)(1)). For other ways the law treats distress without a physical injury, see emotional distress without a physical injury.

Where would a lawsuit against a local outlet be filed?

Usually in the superior court of a county connected to the case. Our guide to what to expect at Sonoma County Superior Court covers the local steps. Our page on injury claims in Sonoma County lists the county offices involved in other kinds of claims.

If a newspaper, news site or broadcaster published something false about you, contact Young Law Group today at (707) 343-0556 or through our contact page for a free consultation before the 20 days run out.

Do I have to demand a correction before suing a newspaper or broadcaster for libel?