Gentle readers, congratulate us. We, as bloggers, are now legally protected as “journalists”. Or at least we’re getting there. Take that, legitimate press.
Phillip Smith has just won an important case that sets a precedent that we’re going to use at some point. He’s a blogger. He was an angry blogger due to some bad experiences working with an eBay listing company. The blog posts got him in trouble legally, but he claimed journalistic protection.
After a protracted case, the judge agreed with him, stating that use of corporate logos are OK in blogs, just as they’re protected in newspapers. Likewise, opinion and linking are tolerated.
This is good news for us. Regular readers will know that we’re always in trouble, hopefully this new status as “journalists” will get us out of trouble earlier. And into the Playboy mansion easier.
This is fantastic… as long as they don’t do this for other career choices such as pilots because some kid plays a lot of aviation sim games ;-)
Jon
If someone posts to facebook or myspace, are they considered a blogger? What about if they post to a listserv or a message board? If people who write for a school paper or a small independent newspaper are considered journalists, then should anyone who writes online for an audience (no matter how small) be considered a journalist, or will there be more strict requirements?
Leaving a comment on someone else’s website or social networking page does not a journalist make, any more than does writing a letter to the editor of a bricks and mortar newspaper. Posts on message boards or to lists are similar, normally being just comments or messages equivalent to mail sent on the backs of postcards.
When I worked on my high school newspaper, I WAS a journalist (for all practical purposes). I had access to official events, was able to interview people who would normally not talk to strangers, and enjoyed good relationships with professional journalists in the local print and broadcast media. I did not have special ID, but my credentials could be validated with a phone call to the schools journalism department.
A reporter for a “small independent newspaper” would be in a similar situation. Once the paper establishes a reasonable circulation (even if it is given away in local coffee shops or tossed on front lawns like major papers), its reporters would be credentialed with a simple phone call. This is totally legitimate, and they are real journalists — no law says you have to work for a rich guy’s empire.
So bloggers who write more than their daily diary, who actually write about “stuff”, giving facts about real things (people, companies, events) with or without their opinions about those facts, ARE journalists.
However, if they want to be afforded the special protections that journalists normally enjoy they must also accept the hazards of the profession. That is, they must be sure of their facts — either through personal knowledge or through research and interviews. They should document their facts and their sources, and be prepared to substantiate their facts (and protect their sources). Libel and slander laws will apply to them.
@Azarayah – we are now at a crossroads in the industry where sites like CG and Gizmodo are now competing with traditional news media on a fairly level playing field. I’d say we’re on par with the PC Mags and Mossbergs of the world in terms of reach and coverage and we understand libel law and slander well enough not to get ourselves into trouble. Essentially, we can say product X eats the choad but we can’t say Joe Smacks of Smallville, Ill, some guy no one knows or has heard of eats the choad, although he does.
Political and “news” blogs are much harder to define but will eventually get the same rights as credentialed journalists. People in power – journalists and subjects alike – are afraid of the rabble.
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce