Web publishers can be

By: Joe Strupp found liable for libel
few publishers have insurance

BOSTON ? Libel insurance has always been crucial to newspaper organizations. Now, the vast majority of Web publishers have realized that they are woefully unprotected from libel suits, according to Stacie K. Gram, an insurance expert who spoke at a recent National Newspaper Association seminar on the issue here.
Although insurance companies have been expanding the libel coverage available to online publications in recent years, only about 5% of online newspapers and information services have the insurance they need to protect against lawsuits, said Gram, claims specialist with Employers Reinsurance Corp. in Overland Park, Kan.
"The larger companies like Yahoo! and [America Online] have the coverage, as far as we can tell, but the small person operating out of their home doesn't have it. Anyone who operates a Web site needs the coverage because the risk is huge."
Gram said coverage is not only needed for simple protection against libel and other journalism issues ? such as trespassing, invasion of privacy, and distress ? but also to protect against laws that exist outside of the Web site's home address and internationally. She said a local newspaper that only had to worry about local or state laws in the past must now contend with laws in other states and other countries, where the Internet reaches.
Walter Coady Jr., president of Walterry Insurance Brokers in Clinton, Md., also attended the seminar. He said the need for libel insurance is greatest for new online publishers, including many who have never dabbled in journalism before and may not realize what constitutes libel.
"The small publishers don't always recognize the exposure, and they will not be able to defend it," Coady said.
Gram and Coady also offered some recent statistics from the Libel Defense Research Center (ldrc) of New York, which indicated that more money is being awarded in libel cases, and newspapers are among the most likely to be sued.
A recent ldrc report stated that the median compensatory damage award in a lawsuit against a media outlet had grown from $100,000 in the 1980s to $175,000 in the 1990s, with a jump to $587,000 for 1998. The same report said that the median punitive damage award had increased from $250,000 in the 1980s to $315,000 in the 1990s, with a slight decline to $300,000 for 1998. The final average amount paid in a lawsuit against a media outlet, according to the same report, rose from $210,000 in the 1980s to $474,595 in the 1990s, with a major increase to $950,000 for 1998.
"Juries are more and more critical of the media, and judgments are being made against the media more," Gram said. "And they dislike the local media as much as the national media." Further statistics provided by the ldrc report bear Gram's contention out. They report that 44% of lawsuits filed against newspapers are filed against those in the smallest 50 newspaper markets, while only 13% are filed against newspapers in the top 20 markets.
In addition, newspapers account for 32% of lawsuits filed against media outlets, more than any other information source.
The most likely people to sue newspapers are educators, who make up 30% of plaintiffs in such cases, according to the ldrc. Business owners are second, at 17%; followed by criminal defendants and suspects, 12%; professionals, 8%; and parents, 6%.
Among the tips offered at the seminar to avoid libel litigation: paying attention to detail; being truthful and accurate; checking facts more than once; reviewing controversial items with an attorney, avoiding or carefully reviewing the use of hidden videotaping or audio recording; and considering the impact of a story on those named, even if it is correct.

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