Protecting yourself from legal action
There is little that can be done to protect yourself against a SLAPP, but the legislation in British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario is intended to deter those who would bring SLAPP suits.
Making sure you keep contemporaneous notes and any minutes from meetings is imperative. These notes are important as they provide you with a record of what has happened and who has said what to you. Record the information that you’ve been given, think about how good the information is, and also make sure that you ahve followed up on things, whether this is gaining further information or following up on something that someone might have said. When doing all of this, also think about the public interest and why the story you are pursuing, the information you have gathered, and the people you are talking to are in the public interest.
With regard to the public interest, this is something that should be considered at every point of the developing story. Constantly try to have two or three reasons why the story is in the public interest and write these down contemporaneously so that you have them recorded. As mentioned prior, there is no definitive list of the public interest, but the courts have recognised the importance of notekeeping and documenting the public interest as well:
Once you have your facts and are certain that they are in the public interest then providing a right of reply is important as it protects you editorially. It is considered good practice and good faith journalism to provide the subject of an article with the right of reply. If a reply is received then it is also good practice to publish a summary of the response that has been received. While there is nothing in legislation forcing you to do this, and in some cases it might not be beneficial if it could, for example, endanger sources, it does provide an added layer of protection and editorial codes of conduct also state that it should be done.
If you are publishing something that is likely to be disputed or considered controversial then, if possible, ask a lawyer to look over it. They will be best placed to know if the topic you are writing about is likely to face legal action and they can advise the best course of action in order for you to be able to protect yourself. If you don’t have access to a lawyer, then there are other resources available.