First, we want all our members to have a basic understanding of media law. We know that many bloggers think of themselves as writers or just citizens speaking their mind but, in fact, a blogger is a publisher and/or broadcaster (podcasters, vloggers) and whether they like it or not their actions are governed by laws that apply to all publishers and broadcasters. Of course, we are not expecting bloggers to become lawyers but all bloggers should be aware of the key issues and be familiar with the questions they should be asking themselves even if they do not know the answers.
Second, we want all of our members to be insured. We recognize that blogger insurance is a brand new concept and that most bloggers do not currently see the need for insurance. We expect that to change over time as the risks associating with blogging, podcasts, vlogging or even commenting on other blogs and sites becomes more apparent. In the meantime, we now have a product for those who recognize the need and that product will be available as other bloggers begin to understand the risks associated with their blog. At the MBA, we see the need close up. We have helped bloggers deal with hundreds of legal threats and naturally we follow these issues closely. We know the number of legal threats is doubling each year and that problem is only going to get worse. We know that bloggers are being forced to write checks in order to settle cases or when a court enters judgments against them. That most bloggers do not know this does not change the reality of the legal landscape and we fully expect most bloggers will eventually view insuring their blog as part of the normal cost of having a blog.
Third, because we are developing what the insurance company views as a high quality "risk pool" they are willing to offer MBA Members a significant discount on the annual premium. The fact is that very few bloggers would even get a quote if they contact an insurance company; the cost to evaluate the blogger as an insured risk would exceed the potential profit from the premiums the blogger would pay. So just getting a quote at all is a key benefit of MBA membership. In fact, we have integrated the MBA web site with the online insurance portal at Media/Pro so that getting a quote is a matter of clicking a button, filling out a form and clicking another button to generate a quote. And, of course, the price quoted will be much, much lower than the blogger could obtain independently.
Fourth, those bloggers who buy insurance will have access to a "legal hotline" where they can get answers to legal questions that come up from time to time. Since all MBA Members will have a basic understanding of media law by definition, it makes sense to put in place a program for them to get answers to "media law" questions before publishing some risky or controversial content on their blog. The details of this program will be furnished to those who purchase insurance but the short version is that the premium will include up to three "sessions" per year where Media/Pro customers will be permitted to submit questions and get back basic legal advice. For those bloggers who do not purchase insurance, Media/Pro is developing a basic legal FAQ, which will be available to MBA members within the MBA web site.
Finally, this is just the beginning. Down the road we will be adding additional programs. First up will be an "accreditation" program through which MBA members can obtain media credentials. As part of our mission for bloggers to be treated as journalists when they are operating in a journalistic capacity, the MBA has been at the forefront of opening up access for bloggers to be treated "as media" for purposes of credentialing to a wide range of events - federal trials, military embedding programs, sporting events, political debates, corporate shareholder meetings, trade shows and conventions and more. We intend to build on this track record by formalizing the process and providing a clear path through which any blogger who wishes can obtain media credentials. We are in discussions now with a number of different "credentialing organizations" so that an accredited MBA Member, upon presenting proper ID, would automatically be eligible to apply for credentials as a member of the media. Let me point out here, to address past criticism of our efforts in this area, we never require that the MBA be the exclusive means for a blogger to obtain media credentials for an event and discourage "credentialing organizations" from relying upon the MBA to serve in that role. We have never worked on an event where only MBA members were permitted to get "blogger" credentials and we intend to keep it that way. We want to be ONE path through which a blogger may obtain media credentials not THE path.
In the past we have worked with publishers and movie companies to make available to members giveaways like review copies of books or tickets to a movie screening. We intend to expand on that so that members who wish can receive books, CDs, DVDs, movie tickets and other promotional items. We want to expand the concept of obtaining a group discount on insurance by listening to our members to find out what other programs would be useful to them. There are more ideas on the drawing board but this should be sufficient to make the point that we have not only down a lot over the past few years but have big plans for the future.
