Posted on 03/17/2005 11:10:14 AM PST by OESY
You can't flip through a newspaper or wander around the Internet these days without stumbling across a debate over whether bloggers are journalists.
This isn't trivial. Journalists often get access to places and information that others don't. Because they're surrogates for the public, they can get close to the action when emergencies break out. They benefit from the California Shield Law, which allows them, in most instances, to keep secret sources secret....
The Federal Elections Commission soon will explore whether campaign-finance laws apply to partisan bloggers whose work may, in effect, be akin to donating their services to campaigns....
It's a key question that's growing more important and may affect the news you get and how you get it.
Asking whether bloggers are journalists is also the wrong question because it confuses the medium with the messengers....
There is, on the other hand, a subset that fits the definition just fine: These bloggers find news or comment on it. They report fairly, if sometimes hyperbolically, and they editorialize on what they learn. They're identifiable and reachable, not hiding behind a virtual wall that allows them to be safely irresponsible. They allow interaction with readers -- critics and supporters alike.
It's not a matter of viewpoint. Blogs from the left, the right and the middle can meet that test. And it's not a matter of subject. Journalism takes in a world of ideas....
Over time, the verdict won't come from a judge or a commissioner or a supervisor. Consumers will decide which bloggers are journalists based on what they're willing to read and what they're willing to trust.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I'm sure Dan Rather has an opinion on this. I love it.
"be akin to donating their services to campaigns"
I believe the report from Columbia indicted the dems already. Their coverage of the election PROVES TO ME they were DONATING THEIR SERVICES TO THE KERRY CAMPAIGN.
I blogged several articles - nobody asked me to - and nobody paid me to. It was just my opinion.
Lawmakers can try all they want, make criminals out of us all by legislating so many laws but we will not succumb. The Swift Boat Vets proved that we will find a way to get the word out. The militiamen's actions on the mexican border prove that many still value our liberties and Constitution and are not adverse to upholding our laws even if the courts and politicians will not. If the courts don't change soon, we will demand that they submit to the will of the people and uphold the Constitution of the United States or we will replace them.
Who wants to be called a journalist?
Simple: conservative = journalist. Liberal = not.
To answer the question, "are bloggers journalists" it is necessary to define "journalists". Until we agree on a definition, the debate will never end. Personally, I think that anybody who writes a "journal" and makes it available to the public is a "journalist". A "log" is close enough to a "journal" to consider it a synonym. Therefore, web loggers are journalists.
The mainstream media has become the media of choice for the mentally, socially, morally and intellectually retarded. Theirs is the incredible shrinking pie.
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