Arbitration Clauses for Journalists?

Thanks to Public Citizen's Law and Policy Blog for bringing this L.A. Times article to my attention. In a beautiful piece of irony, the writer exposes many of the problems with arbitration clauses by publishing the one in the Times' contract she had to sign in order to publish the article on arbitration clause abuses.

In the article, the author claims she had no choice but to sign the contract. Question for all you lawyers out there: Is that true? Isn't there some way to get around this?

Comments

[Stephen Hunt, Jr.]

Without offering any supporting research, I seem to recall courts generally treating arbitration clauses the same as contracts when it comes to the bargaining power of both parties. I think that there would be a strong argument in favor of the freelance journalist lacking equal footing with a paper such as the L.A. Times, which could lead a court to find the arbitration provision unenforceable.

[Elliot]

In most states, the only way around a "take it or leave it" contract is to leave it-- the reporter could say "no" and try to find another newspaper or magazine that wouldn't insist on an arbitration clause.

The Federal Arbitration Act says that arbitration contracts are as enforceable as any other contract. And lots of contracts have all sorts of clauses in the fine print. Our legal system says, generally, that if you sign something, you agree to it.

[John Day]

The idea that a consumer can negotiate contracts is a fiction. So to with a journalist - unless you are a really heavy hitter, you cannot negotiate "boilerplate" language.

Fair? No. Fact? Yes