Bloggers feeling dissed by federal shield law
The blogosphere isn't exactly an objective place to turn for feedback on a proposed federal shield law that protects "real journalists," but , according to its author, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., who was quoted on the matter in Editor & Publisher.
But for what it's worth, most bloggers aren't happy about the idea of being excluded from the proposed Free Flow of Information Act, which has been up for debate, but currently is worded in a way that protects anyone who "publishes a newspaper, book, magazine, or other periodical in print or electronic form."
Perhaps more inflaming to bloggers was Lugar's comment Monday at a journalism conference. "As to who is a reporter, this will be a subject of debate as this bill goes farther along," he said. "Are bloggers journalists or some of the commercial businesses that you here would probably not consider real journalists? Probably not, but how do you determine who will be included in this bill?"
Blog and Web community response:
"Given the abuse of current shields perpetrated by The New York Times in recent years, and by others who have allowed anonymous sources to hide behind the press' rights while engaged in mere bureaucratic name-calling, I frankly don't think this law is necessary. The only real protection we have as citizens, in the First Amendment, is the right to fight for our rights...The right to write anonymously, as James Madison did in the Federalist Papers, is under unprecedented attack by corporate interests."
--Corante
"There is real danger in the proposed federal shield law. They would exclude bloggers. But forget bloggers. They would exclude citizens who commit acts of journalism. That is one side of the peril. The other side is that they will certify 'professional journalists' by one definition or another and then have the power to decertify them...Journalism must be defined by the act, not the person."
--Newsmonger
"The debate is nothing new; I raised this issue back in April with regards to the definition of 'blog,' although some 'bloggers' took offense at my suggestion that it was not clear just what a blog is. Make no mistake about it: in Big Media circles, confusion reigns supreme...There is no 'journalist certification,' no 'entrance exam,' no 'licensing test'—in short, there's no true definition."
--Ars Technica
"Blogging is no more than diarrhea of the keyboard, and deserves no protection from anything. A serious journalist can easily be distinguished from a casual letter writer, and a blogger is even less than a casual letter writer. No problem keeping the picture clear."
--Earl Benser on CNET News.com Talkback
"I wonder if there will be such thing as free speech 20 years from now? Will your children know what it means when we talk about our right to free speech which is being chipped away a little bit at a time? I don't see one reason why bloggers shouldn't have the same freedoms and protections as the press. Often enough bloggers uncover stories that the MSM would never touch."
--Gindy Blogspot