We granted the application for interlocutory appeal filed by Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. d/b/a The Union Recorder “the newspaper” and reporter Hanna Marney collectively, “appellants”, to review the trial court’s order denying their motion for summary judgment in this libel action filed by Shirrod King. Because the evidence conclusively establishes that the articles published in the newspaper about King were privileged as “truthful reports of information received from . . . police authorities,”1 we reverse the trial court’s judgment. To prevail on a motion for summary judgment, the moving party must demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact, and that the undisputed facts warrant judgment as a matter of law.2 “A defendant may do this by showing the court that the documents, affidavits, depositions and other evidence in the record reveal that there is no evidence sufficient to create a jury issue on at least one essential element of plaintiff’s case.”3 We review a ruling on a motion for summary judgment de novo, viewing the evidence and all reasonable inferences that may be drawn from it in the light most favorable to the nonmovant.4
Viewed most favorably to King, the record demonstrates the following relevant facts. King was employed as a healthcare worker at Central State Hospital in Milledgeville. When two Baldwin County prisoners escaped from the hospital, King was suspected of aiding in the escape. Marney wrote two articles about King’s alleged participation in the escape. The articles were published in the newspaper on December 22, 2006, and in the weekend edition of December 23-25. In the first article, titled “Escapees had inside help,” Marney wrote that police had taken a warrant out on King, who was suspected of aiding in the prisoners’ escape. Marney quoted Baldwin County Sheriff Bill Massee as saying that officers were “actively looking for King. . . . We consider his assistance to the escapees as a big or bigger crime than the escape itself.” The second article was written by Marney after King had been taken into custody. In that article, titled “Escape accomplice arrested,” Marney wrote that “deputies arrested . . . King . . . for aiding the escape of two Baldwin County prisoners”; that King had been charged with “aiding another to escape from . . . custody;” and that he “could face up to five years in prison if found guilty and convicted.” Marney also quoted the sheriff as saying that King “allegedly gave a key” to one of the prisoners.
