Free Republic

Podcasting is taking a step into the mainstream. Apple Computer Inc. yesterday introduced a version of its popular iTunes music software that includes a directory making it easier to find and listen to podcasts -- radio shows and other audio programs posted on the Internet for anyone to download. Many podcasts are produced by individuals, on a range of quirky subjects, but it hasn't always been easy finding the tens of thousands of available programs and downloading them to digital-audio players. The new directory -- a sort of TV Guide for Internet audio programs -- also makes it easier to...

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...