OJR: The Online Journalism Review

Any experience with media liability insurance?

I'm looking through providers now and reading articles, but I'm certainly open to hearing about folks' individual experiences and recommendations.

Submitted by Jen Burke

Posted: 2007-01-27

Any thoughts on media liability insurance? I'm looking through providers now and reading articles, but I'm certainly open to hearing about folks' individual experiences and recommendations. I'm also wondering about the full scope of what I should be asking about a policy, so if anyone has any wisdom, I would be happy to hear it.

I'm a blogger for my two sites. I'm also a freelance writer and editor who works on a contract basis. I have been hired for everything from resume/portfolio overhauls to drafting a comment for a mortgage broker. In other words, the work is quite varied.

I'm concerned about possible problems stemming from the blogs, as I've been following lawsuits involving bloggers. I'm just as concerned about potential disputes with clients (though nothing has ever happened). Does anyone have any personal experience or recommendations regarding coverage for these types of endeavors?

Overall, I was quite surprised by the cost as I reviewed different plans.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Jen

Responses:

From Robert Niles on January 28, 2007 at 4:32 PM

Allow me to broaden the question: Have any micropublishers (bloggers, Website publishers, etc.) any advice on hiring a lawyer to help you with issues like this? Not just liability insurance, but also DMCA issues, incorporation, contracts, trademarks, etc.

There comes a point where one gets sick of spending so much time on FindLaw and Google and would rather just hire someone to handle this. But we're talking about a small business here, so the legal folks I met when working at newspaper.coms are out of a small publisher's financial league.

From Heath Haussamen on January 29, 2007 at 9:43 AM

As for the broader question... I have no answer. I consult with friends who have relevant experience.

For liability, try forming a corporation and putting the business assets there... keeping them separate and few so that the business has little financial value and is less likely to be the target of a lawsuit.

From Jen Burke on January 29, 2007 at 10:55 PM

Thanks, Heath.

I recall in conversations about the lawsuit against Dooce, people were surprised that she had not formed an LLC to help protect herself.

From Heath Haussamen on January 30, 2007 at 9:32 AM

It's not a great answer, but it's the best I've found.

From Dawn Rivers Baker on February 3, 2007 at 11:47 AM

Like others, the best not-great answer for most micropublishers is to choose a business structure that protects personal assets. Most of us don't have the spare cash to spring for any kind of liability insurance or for attorneys (not including those we might be married to, of course).

In fact, that was why I incorporated in the first place. It doesn't make your life any easier around tax time but its a reasonable precaution if you think it'll be awhile before you can afford insurance.

From Jen Burke on February 16, 2007 at 11:25 AM

Thank you, Dawn. I appreciate the input.

From Richard Silverstein on February 19, 2007 at 1:38 AM

I have been threatened with a lawsuit (by another journalist no less), so I've experienced this issue first hand. Even if you feel you cannot afford an attorney, if you get into the situation that I did, you NEED ONE. I didn't have one & I really regret it. I've written about this experience at my blog, Tikun Olam. Let me know if anyone wants the link.

Electronic Frontier Foundation works on behalf of protecting bloggers' rights. Though they're not in the business of providing lawyers or referrals, they might be a good place to start if you're facing a suit or want more info on some of these issues.

One thing I've hoped to see is some sort of arrangement bet. a professional bloggers association and a group of intellectual property attorneys to provide legal advice and assistance; and to do so tailored to the personal budgets most bloggers have (which is very little).