Freelancers record successes in 19 of 21 cases

Recent liability protection at Science magazine, Politico, and two other publications have boosted FIRE's rate of successful interventions to 19 of 21 cases since 2021.

In these cases, freelance reporters have used FIRE Legal Consultancies to renegotiate liability exposure on particular commissioned stories.

The breakthroughs have come in various ways, from use of excerpts drawn from the FIRE Contract Template, to custom modifications of an outlet's existing contract. But all reflect the flexibility and wisdom of the broadcasters and publishers involved.

Of the 19 stories, 15 have already been published, some of them listed here.

In addition, an unknown number of freelancers have gained protections privately, as outlets voluntarily adjust their freelance contracts to the Template. In 2023, a publisher with 100 million monthly page-views quietly adopted FIRE's Template as a boilerplate for hundreds of freelancers.