MSG revives legal theory that once haunted ‘60 Minutes’

In the 1990s, CBS infamously spiked a damning “60 Minutes” interview with whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand about the tobacco industry because the network’s lawyers feared it could be sued for encouraging him to violate a nondisclosure agreement with his former employer, a tobacco company. Three decades later, Madison Square Garden is trying to use the legal theory that CBS’ lawyers once feared, now against Wired magazine. MSG’s new lawsuit is the latest example of a private litigant trying to wield a legal claim known as “ tortious interference with contract ” against journalists who rely on sources bound by confidentiality agreements. (The lawsuit includes defendant Katie Drummond, Wired global editorial director and Freedom of the Press Foundation board member. Drummond had no involvement i…