Reporters Shield

Reporters Shield is a membership program that defends journalism from legal attacks. 

Joining Reporters Shield is a proactive strategy for newsrooms wanting to prepare for an increasingly litigious environment, our legal experts deliver a three-pronged legal strategy in support of our members:

• Prevent: pre-publication assessments of high risk investigations (where investigations include people or businesses registered in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK).
• Respond: when members receive threats of legal action, we draft robust responses on their behalf to show the plaintiff that they have specialist representation, and will not capitulate.
• Defend: robust legal defense in court by a specialist media lawyer from our global network (members can nominate).

About: Reporters Shield is a 501(c)(3) and was created by journalists and media lawyers to protect journalism that holds power to account.

Rate: The annual fee for membership is based on several factors, including the size of the outlet, its lawsuit history and the number of stories published per year. Reporters Shield’s members stand in solidarity against lawfare – each contributing to the $15 million mutual defense fund already raised. Click here to access Reporters Shield.