Does The First Amendment Protect Bloggers Too?

Mental Recession ^ | 02/16/2012 | Rusty

[Hegewisch Dupa]

A court ruling last December would seem to indicate that no, bloggers are not privy to the same legal protections afforded so-called real journalists.

Via the Washington Examiner:

This past December, federal judge Marco Hernandez of Oregon issued a ruling in the libel trial of Obsidian Finance Group v. Cox that has dangerous First Amendment implications.

Hernandez ruled that blogger Crystal Cox was not entitled to the same protection under media shield laws that other members of the press enjoy. This ruling made it easy for a jury to find her guilty of libel. That result threatens the First Amendment rights of all citizen-journalists.

I would argue that the work being performed by bloggers can sometimes be far superior and more timely than that being manufactured by the main stream media. From my personal experience, every time that I have come across something for the first time on an outlet like MSNBC or CNN, and commence researching, that topic has already been widely covered in the blogosphere.

But we’re not debating quality of work here. We’re debating basic First Amendment rights.

In a terrific op-ed by Jason Stverak, a strong case to apply those rights to bloggers is made:

“... why is this issue so complicated? Bloggers, like all citizens of the United States, have First Amendment rights. Has the definition of a journalist changed? Or has perception and therefore legal definition simply not adjusted to modern technology?”

He adds that:

The public now relies on citizen-journalists to perform an invaluable service to our democracy — serving as government watchdogs.

Media shield laws must be revised to make clear that bloggers and all citizen-journalists deserve the same protection as the city hall beat-writer at the local newspaper.

If you believe that bloggers should be included in a state’s shield laws and granted Freedom of the Press rights, then please sign the petition at Protect Your Voice.

And please read the rest of the op-ed about bloggers and First Amendment rights here...

[shibumi]

Here ya go rusty - my account is still in working order. Reply to me.

(By the way - that’s quite a trick Gunner’s got there - posting from a banned account and all, eh?)

Hello Rusty.

It seems that since you signed up at Free Republic a month ago,
you have posted 15 self-authored “articles” from your blog:

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/by:rustyweiss74/index?tab=articles

It is also the case that you have not seen fit to comment on any
of these threads you started, nor on any other thread on the forum:

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/by:rustyweiss74/index?tab=comments;brevity=full;options=no-change

I should tell you that this is VERY BAD FORM.

The fact is that Free Republic is currently engaged in raising
funds for operating expenses. To keep us “on the air” so to speak.
Yet here you are, contributing nothing to the conversation and
attempting to divert Free Republic’s traffic on to your little
blog in order to get hits and the subsequent ad revenue associated with those hits.

BAD Rusty.

I am not mistaken in my analysis. You are a blogpimp.
The fact that you excerpt your own material proves this.

Now, Rusty.. it’s never too late to redeem yourself.

First, post some comments. Here on Free Republic. Not on a blog.

Second, knock off excerpting your own material. Nobody wants
to visit your blog to read the rest of your writing. Maybe
if your material is compelling, some folks will be intrigued
enough to visit your blog. Trying to trick folks into clicking
your blog is a very scummy practice and is frowned on by many here.

Lastly and perhaps most importantly, you can show that you are
not just here to use Free Republic as an advertising tool by
donating to the fundraiser. You can do so here:

https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/

You would do well to heed this advice.

[CT]

For years, I thought the "press" was defined as the media, reporters, etc. Then someone reminded me that inn the 1700's, the "press" was a "printing press," used to distribute literature by individuals and groups.

The Bill of Rights is aimed at the most possible freedom for an individual's standpoint. And that is why I believe the First and Second Amendments are aimed at securing the rights of individuals to speak (i.e., blog) and to keep and bear arms.