Media Bloggers Group Launches Liability Insurance Program

October 10, 2008

Bloggers are getting access to same sorts of training, legal support and insurance available to traditional media organizations.

The New York-based Media Bloggers Association has launched a program of legal and financial resources that includes BlogInsure, what it says is a first-of-its-kind liability insurance program for bloggers. It provides coverage for all forms of defamation, invasion of privacy and copyright infringement or similar allegations arising out of blogging activities.

The cornerstone of the new program is an online course in media law developed by the MBA in partnership with The Poynter Institute's News University. The course, Online Media Law: The Basics for Bloggers and Other Online Publishers.

Media/Professional Insurance created an assessment to evaluate the student's understanding of the course material.

"The past few years have seen unprecedented changes in the media landscape," said Robert Cox, co-founder and president of the Media Bloggers Association. "From a handful of bloggers in 2000 to tens of millions today, bloggers have been granted full press credentials, broken major news stories, and dethroned high-profile politicians and media figures. With that success has come greater scrutiny and the inevitable rise in legal threats facing bloggers."

The new course is part of the MBA membership application process but bloggers are not required to join the MBA to take the course.

After completing the exam, bloggers are asked to take a course assessment; this exam is a prerequisite for individuals interested in joining the association so those wishing to join must opt to report their test scores to the MBA. It is also the basis for the discount on liability insurance available to bloggers through the BlogInsure program.

By joining the MBA, individual bloggers can purchase liability insurance through Media/Professional Insurance, a business unit of the Select Markets Division of AXIS Insurance. The insurance covers costs and damages for claims of defamation, copyright infringement and privacy violation.

Media/Professional Insurance has offered media liability coverage for publishers and broadcasters since 1979, protecting against claims of defamation and infringement.

Insured bloggers will have access to a new legal hotline beta program. MBA Members who purchase insurance will have access to a web extranet through which they may submit queries and get answers to legal questions before problems arise. The hotline is operated by the law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, and overseen by Sonnenschein partner Blaine Kimrey.

Sources: Media Bloggers Association
www.mediabloggers.org

Media/Professional Insurance
www.mediaprof.com

News University
www.newsu.org