Journalist insurance: media liability for freelance and independent journalists
An outlet's media policy protects the outlet, and many freelance contracts ask you to indemnify it. Your own media liability policy defends you against libel, privacy and newsgathering claims over your reporting.
This guide explains where claims against freelance and independent journalists come from and how media liability works. Ready for a policy? Get a journalist quote from CreatorSure.
Where claims come from
- Libel over reporting on real people.
- Privacy claims over how you gathered information or what you revealed.
- Newsgathering: recorded calls, entering property, leaked documents.
- Subpoenas for your notes in someone else's case.
- Contract terms that shift the outlet's risk onto you.
Publishing your own reporting by email? See insurance for newsletter writers. Shooting your own photos? Read photographer coverage.
Is the outlet's policy enough?
Ask the outlet three questions:
- Does your policy cover freelancers?
- Does it cover my work for you after we stop working together?
- Does my contract ask me to indemnify you?
If the answer to either of the first two is no, or the third is yes, you need your own. Running a newsletter? See publishers.
Questions
Do staff reporters need insurance for journalists?
Staff are covered by their employer. Freelancers and independent outlets need their own.
Do anti-SLAPP laws replace insurance?
No. You still have to defend the case to use them.
Does the outlet's policy cover a freelancer?
Usually not. Many freelance contracts ask you to indemnify the outlet, so a claim over your story can land on you.
Does it cover newsgathering claims?
Yes. Claims over how you got the story, like recording or trespass claims, are part of what journalist media liability covers. Coverage depends on your policy terms.
Does it cover stories I published before the policy?
Your policy can cover past work. It doesn't cover a dispute you already know about.
Ready for a policy?
CreatorSure is our creator and media insurance program. It sells journalist insurance and will place a policy that covers your reporting.