MBA News

Matthew Lasar wrote in Ars Technica
AP: tech coming to stop "wholesale theft" on 'Net

One wonders how much the blogs AP didn't like then resemble the blogs Bridis now says he thinks would be OK. History may play a role in the decision-making process. Robert Cox of the Media Bloggers Association, which helped Cadenhead, noted that, prior to this notorious case, Retort had indeed posted various AP articles in their entirety, which is what had first drawn the company's ire. "AP is not on some wild rampage through the blogosphere, lawyering up to to go after every blogger who quotes an AP story in any way," Cox insisted. "Yet that is how this story has been portrayed, including by a lot of people who should know better but are having too much fun bashing AP."

Kate Murphy wrote in Breaking News / Infotech Blogger jailed in defamation suit

"A lot of bloggers think of themselves as individuals or maybe writers but in the courts, they are considered a publisher," Cox said.... "A lot of these cases could have been avoided if things had been worded just a little differently or if they had double sourced their information," Cox said. "Most of the time, these people are not trained journalists."

Correspondents in Houston, Texas wrote in Perth Now Woman jailed over Anna Nicole blog 'slurs'

Lawsuits against bloggers in the US have been doubling every year since 2004 with $US15m ($18.68m) in judgments so far against them, according to Robert Cox, president of the Media Bloggers Association.

M.P. McQueen wrote in the Wall Street Journal Bloggers, Beware: What You Write Can Get You Sued

Both personal-injury and umbrella policies also generally exclude coverage for copyright violations, an increasingly common accusation. The Media Bloggers Association, a membership group based in New Rochelle, N.Y., just began offering its members media insurance from AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd. that covers copyright infringement along with defamation. Bloggers have to pay $25 to join the association and meet other requirements to get the insurance, which starts at $540 a year.

Jeff Winkler wrote in Reason Getting Sued For Twibel or Tweet Once & Destroy

Part of the problem with the Internet is you have a lot of amateur gunslingers firing away at targets and they have no idea they could be liable for the damage they inflict, says Robert Cox, president of the New Rochelle, N.Y.-based Media Bloggers Association....

His group has helped establish an insurance plan for bloggers who might not be covered under their existing personal liability polices. Many bloggers who thought they had coverage soon discover that because their blog has revenue it is considered a commercial product and therefore is not covered by their personal liability insurance.

Another problem, Mr. Cox says, is that the insurance industry is realizing it has not built in proper risk models to account for the exposure to major lawsuits.

Garry Marr wrote in Financial Post Tweet this: You're being sued

Part of the problem with the Internet is you have a lot of amateur gunslingers firing away at targets and they have no idea they could be liable for the damage they inflict, says Robert Cox, president of the New Rochelle, N. Y.-based Media Bloggers Association, which has about 2,000 members.

Mike Orren wrote in Pegasus News
Who is a journalist? (part 7,634)

Although there are groups like the Media Bloggers Association trying to educate on legal issues, provide representation, and even libel insurance, there are unfortunate risks and disincentives to those who would cover local news without a corporate shield.

Legal Blog Watch: Fearing that anything they write in an internal memorandum may make its way to the blogosphere, large law firms are carefully vetting their internal communiques.

Citizen Media Law Project: The blogger behind the Skanks in NYC blog has appeared through counsel to challenge model Liskula Cohen's request for discovery from Google regarding his/her identity.

New York Times: Blogging during the recession

First Amendment Center: Case involving 'fair report' privilege heads to Arkansas high court.

WebProNews: Follow up to Facebook Spammer Issue. Restraining order issued against Samford "Spamford" Wallace in US District Court.

WebProNews: MySpace has stamped its name on a new Citi Credit Card. When used, users can earn redeemable rewards through MySpace such as free music downloads, concerts, movies, etc.

New York Times: Facebook makes many changes.

Yahoo Tech: Catholics are urged to give up modern appliances and behaviors such as surfing the web or texting.

Yonkers Tribune: First Amendment lawyer Henry C. Kaufman will engage in oral arguments today, March 5, before New York State Supreme Court Judge over a defamation lawsuit brought against his client Stuart Tiekert by former law school dean Richard Ottinger.

Rebecca Reisner wrote in BusinessWeek Avoid Deadbeat Clients with BusinessBeware.biz

Other observers, however, wouldn't let fear of litigation stop them from making legitimate complaints via Web sites like BusinessBeware.biz. "It's the other side of the coin—there are a million sites where customers complain," says Robert Cox, president of the Media Bloggers Assn. in New Rochelle, N.Y. "If businesses want to use the Internet to post information, it's fine as long as it's true. Businesses have a right to protect their interests—within the limits of defamation and privacy law, of course."

Amy Gahran wrote in Poynter Online Media Bloggers Association relaunch

Media Bloggers Association relaunch: The Media Bloggers Association has launched its new site, which includes a media law course for bloggers in partnership with Poynter's News University.

The Media Bloggers Association describes itself as "a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting, protecting and educating its members; supporting the development of 'blogging' or 'citizen journalism' as a distinct form of media; and helping to extend the power of the press, with all the rights and responsibilities that entails, to every citizen."

Accomplishments of the MBA so far include:

• Representing dozens of bloggers in negotiations, including most recently Joan Stewart in the Oprah Winfrey case (working with Arianna and The Huffington Post's lawyer)
• Providing various levels of legal support to hundreds of bloggers facing threats
• Obtaining media credentials for bloggers
• Developing a first of its kind media liability insurance for bloggers
• Setting up a legal network of more than 75 attorneys specializing in First Amendment-related work around the country to offer members basic risk consults in the event of legal threats for defamation, privacy violation and copyright violation
• Setting up deals for bloggers with Newsweek, The Associated Press, PBS and others