Further to my earlier post, I have just been sent this link to a The Electronic Frontier Foundation which offers legal help to bloggers, including among other things asserting:
Bloggers can be journalists (and journalists can be bloggers). We’re battling for legal and institutional recognition that if you engage in journalism, you’re a journalist, with all of the attendant rights, privileges, and protections. (See Apple v. Does.)
I think they are right to put it on the basis of whether or not you “engage in journalism”. Obviously, most bloggers don’t.
We have to start thinking of journalism as a set of norms and practices, rather than a professional tag applying to individuals.
6 Comments
Margaret – I’m working up something for upcoming conferences and publications which tries to reframe the question in the form, “when am I a journalist”? I think whatever our various positions on who is a blogger and who is a journalist (frankly I don’t think it matters much in the end), it’s worth acknowledging, especially for inexperienced bloggers, that they are publishing, and that they will occasionally be handling gossip or news in a way that has legal and ethical dimensions, and that it makes a difference whether or not they are able to be sure of the info they’re passing on. I haven’t blogged about this for awhile because I found the discussion rather distracting in the end, but I think the material you link to makes the same point in a different way.
I’ll look forward to reading/hearing that paper, Jason. I think “when am I a journalist” is exactly the right question to ask. Did you see Quiggin on this?
There’s been some interesting comments on a similar topic on a blog post by a colleague over at Silicon Federation – http://siliconfederation.com/?p=259
I am concerned about bloggers who are not journalists but who are paid to flog propaganda without declaring it. At least most journalists who value their credibility feel obliged to reveal their conflicts of interest. I am also concerned about bloggers who flog propaganda without being paid, by being manipulated into producing content after having been fed unsourceable lines. In my experience some parties will go to unbelievable lengths to spread rumour and innuendo to ultimately harm innocent people, while some young writers voluntarily reproduce nonsense thinking it will bring fame.
Hi Margaret. I did see John’s piece and it was useful. I’ve pulled my finger out today and tried to get some thoughts down.
http://gatewatching.org/2009/02/23/when-am-i-a-journalist/
This remains an interesting discussion, I think.