Independent journalists need legal protection, too
One of the issues that commonly arises in any discussion about independent journalism start-ups is liability. Working for a large news company, journalists feel protected against libel lawsuits since they corporate counsel on their side. But when you go it alone, you’re completely exposed.
I appeared on a panel at a recent workshop in Seattle sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists when the question came up. Those of us on the panel and several veteran freelancers in the audience seemed to agree that, given the cost of liability insurance and the unlikely event that someone with shallow pockets would get sued, it’s not something to lose sleep over.
So I asked David Ardia, the director of the Citizen Media Law Project at the Berkman Center at Harvard for his take.
He acknowledged the cost concerns, but is strongly in favor of insurance:
I think liability insurance is very important. While legal counsel can help to fend off liability, if a publisher loses the lawsuit, they will be on the hook for damages. Unfortunately, most insurance carriers price their insurance products well above what a small journalism startup can afford.
So one option is the “high deductible approach:” find a good lawyer to use if you get sued instead of paying monthly premiums for liability insurance. If you’re just starting out, this might be your only option.
David added that this issue is covered in detail in the center’s legal guide, which is a must-visit site for anyone launching a new journalism start-up: http://www.citmedialaw.org/legal-guide/finding-insurance.
On the Media reported on this problem last fall. You don’t need to get sued, just threatened with a suit, for it to have a chilling effect on your work.
The Media Bloggers Association offers liability insurance. You have to join the group and pass a test to show you understand liability laws (they have an online course to help you brush up). They also have access to lawyers to help defend bloggers.
I think it’s unwise to assume bloggers/independent journalists won’t be a target of lawsuits. As the On the Media story reported, all it takes is the threat to shut down a blog.
Liability for independent journalists is a serious problem, and not one to be taken lightly, especially in smaller communities where lots of people don’t understand libel law and there are some attorneys willing to make a quick buck off filing a frivolous libel lawsuit.
I’ve been threatened with lawsuits about two to three times per year. Almost all of them are idiotic threats … one guy actually threatened to sue me for printing his gas station’s gas prices that were publicly advertised with a large sign on one of the city’s most heavily traveled streets.
The nice thing is that from my background covering cops, courts and government, I know nearly all the attorneys in town and some of them call me for my advice on interpreting the Missouri Sunshine Law since nobody here specializes in media law.
Long-term, the Pulaski County Daily News will be eligible to apply to the Missouri Press Association as an online newspaper after three years in operation and association members have access to their corporate counsel. I suspect many state press associations will have similar arrangements. But that doesn’t solve the problem for everybody in every state and costs can still be astronomical with an aggressive lawsuit effort by an angry businessman with a lot of money to burn — even if he loses.
The Media Bloggers Association suggestion is a good one. You take an online test, to make sure you understand some basic principles.