FIRE is pleased to announce an innovative program to help freelancers invest their time and resources in public-interest investigative reporting. 

The FIRE Guide to Freelancer Protection, made possible this month by a generous $50,000 grant from craig newmark philanthropies, will explore the extent to which outlets take legal responsibility for the stories they contract.  

Armed with the intelligence in advance, freelancers can more confidently invest in the kind of sensitive accountability stories that keep democracy healthy. 

As we will detail here next month, even the best journalism can trigger a defamation lawsuit. That's why responsible publishers and broadcasters will explicitly promise to indemnify careful freelancers.  

Those outlets will qualify for FIRE's top "Green List" rating. (Last month Science magazine became the latest candidate, on a time-sensitive investigation.)  

To help FIRE monitor how outlets measure up in liability protection, we invite any freelancer to participate in the pilot FIRE Guide to Freelancer Protection. 

Thanks and feel free to email us any questions!  

Laird Townsend, FIRE Director