Crystal Cox, a woman sued by investment firm Obsidian Finance Group for defamation, lost her bid in court to use the media shield laws as a defense. Cox, who writes several blogs, including industrywhistleblower.com, judicialhellhole.com, and obsidianfinancesucks.com, was sued by the firm for statements she made that appeared to be more factual than opinion, according to Seattle Weekly.
Bloggers can write just about anything they want about companies, so long it is in clearly stated that it is an opinion.
Cox argued that this post was indeed based on facts, which were provided to her by an unnamed source. However, the judge ruled that because she was a blogger and not a journalist, Cox couldn’t use the Washington state media shield law.
More Guidance About Blogs
Blogs, or weblogs, have become a key marketing tool for many companies—and therefore are unlikely to court the controversy that Cox has engendered. 65% of B2B marketers use blogs for content marketing purposes, trailing articles (79%) and social media (74%) as the most widely used tactic, but representing a 27% increase from 51% of respondents in 2010, according to a study by MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute.
Still, laws remain murky enough about the rights and responsibilities surrounding blog content that even guidance only remotely related to the type of content that B2B blogs typically publish is welcome.
Also, many consumer brands that don't maintain bloggers inhouse will have some kind of a relationship with third party bloggers—in these scenarios, case law such as the Cox suit can be more relevant.
The Third Party Ties
Examples of such relationships abound: Marks & Spencer recently developed a Facebook campaign with digital agency Profero to get fashion bloggers to develop their own Limited Collection. As part of the campaign, bloggers were encouraged to wear items for the collection, building a new look every day.
US fashion brand Forever 21 signed on fashion blogger Bip Ling to represent it as it opened its second store in the UK - a flagship establishment on Oxford Street. Procter & Gamble is focusing on wooing a slew of Mommy bloggers via a year-long program with BlogHer called "Life Well Lived." It includes both a P&G-sponsored hub at BlogHer.com and specific product engagement opportunities for 10 or so P&G brands.
