As bloggers we often feel it’s our personal right to speak our mind and opinions, but how much is too much? This can be a sticky situation if you find yourself at opposite ends with a big business. If faced with a defamation lawsuit with one of these big guns, I would have to bet that the business will prevail and not the blogger.
So, how do we know when something we write could be considered libel or a copyright infringement? Professional journalists are beginning to offer training seminars to bloggers and web masters.
The seminars are offered by the Society of Professional Journalists and are currently available in Chicago, Los Angeles and Greensboro, N.C. Some of the topics that they cover in the Citizen Journalism Academy; basics of media law, journalism ethics and responsible reporting practices. If this seminar was available in a town near you, would you register for the training?
You know, I probably would. Seems like a really useful training program and with so many bloggers out there – it pays to develop some sort of etiquette about it. That’s a great idea actually!
I think training like this is valuable. As more and more people post their thoughts, I see a lot of sloppiness where opinion and fact are difficult to distinguish. Libel is not something only professional journalists and publishers need to be concerned about; it applies to all of us. Educating bloggers to separate fact from opinion and verify their facts is a simple but essential step. Programs like this should help.
I have an Electronic Frontier Foundation badge on my blog with a link to a legal guide to bloggers.
Check it out: http://w2.eff.org/bloggers/
I think it’s a really good idea to be fully educated before you start writing. Better to be safe before it’s too late. I would definitely take a course.