Writing a review of a person

[turbohost]

Hi Guys,

I'm planning to write reviews of some people who made a difference in today's world and sell these stories via my own websites. I will spare you the details (because I would reveal too much information) ... but I wonder if this is uberhaupt legal. Some people would not want me to publish some of the details (read : public data which they would hate to be revealed). Tabloids do exact the same thing (I'm not going to write about showbizz people :-) ). Do I have to tell these people that I'm writing a story about them?

[The Contractor]

Better make damn sure you get your facts straight, have proof, and not go by third party hearsay. All those tabloids get sued constantly. I would check with a legal professional before even thinking about wading into those waters.

[turbohost]

In fact I'm just showing some technical information which is publicly available but most people don't know where to find this data or how to interpret it. I could go into details about this but then I would reveal the total idea. The only thing I can say is that it's about marketing people.

[MarketingHelpers]

You are walking on some dangerous ground by reviewing people due to the fact you can be sued for slander fairly easily in this country.
You could have a lawyer review your initial postings until you feel comfortable enough with the law that you can write your content without consulting a lawyer.
Most sites that review something, like movies or video games, have lawyers review the content not because of fear of slander but because they can use the images and clips of the movie or game on their Web site without having to pony up any money to the producers of what is being reviewed.
Just be careful when you write negative things about people. If your plan is to write all positives about people then you are probably in the clear.
Best of luck.....

[MarketingHelpers]

I just re-read your post and it sounds like you plan to expose public information about some of the so-called "top" marketers selling information products and services.

Obviously I do not know exactly what information you are planning to expose but my hunch is your accessing public government data like tax filings, SEC filings, and property purchases. It's also possible you are panning to point your site visitors to BBB or D&B information.

My question to you is how will you earn my trust so that I will believe you and be willing to give you money for your information. Any other information you have you will have to prove your sources and remove any doubt about your facts being false (i.e. Dan Rather)

The personal information you can attain from public records will not influence most people's decision to fork over hundreds of dollars for a particular product or service, eve it if seems a bit shady. If that we're the case TV evangelists would have been gone a long long time ago.