Pajamas In Court
The Media Bloggers Association, after long negotiations, has managed to obtain two sets of press credentials for bloggers to cover the Libby trial when it begins. The seats in the press section will be allocated to members on a rotating basis. This is quite a coup for bloggers and the media isn't particularly happy about it.
When the trial of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice opens next week, scores of journalists are expected to throng the federal courtroom in Washington, far too many for the 100 seats set aside for the media.
But for the first time in a federal court, two of these seats will be reserved for bloggers. After two years of negotiations with judicial officials across the country, the Media Bloggers Association, a nonpartisan group with about 1,000 members working to extend the powers of the press to bloggers, has won credentials to rotate among his members. The trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the highest-ranking Bush administration official to face criminal charges, could "catalyze" the association's efforts to win respect and access for bloggers in federal and state courthouses, said Robert Cox, the association's president.
The new validation doesn't necessarily clarify the blurry line between bloggers and traditional journalists at a time when millions of people are discovering that they can project their opinions and expertise around the world with just a few keystrokes. The debates over the traditional checks-and-balances process that journalists follow are continuing, and some bloggers are resisting efforts to be put under the umbrella of the traditional news media.
Since just lately the "checks and balances" a lot of the traditional media are applying seems to be checking if anyone is looking and balancing how much they can get away with versus whether they think they'll get caught, I wouldn't put much stock in that, myself. Was that snarky? Good.
The common journalistic practices of verifying facts, seeking both sides of a story and subjecting an article to editing are honored mostly in the breach. Innuendo and rumor ricochet around the Internet as blogs link from one to another, at times making defamatory voices indistinguishable from the many others involved in this experiment of free expression.
Yet, after detailed talks with Cox, officials at the U.S. District Court decided that public awareness of court proceedings could be enhanced by his group's members, among them documentary filmmaker and journalist Rory O'Connor ( http://www.roryoconnor.org/blog) and freelance writer James Joyner ( http://www.outsidethebeltway.com).
"Bloggers can bring a depth of reporting that some traditional media organizations aren't able to achieve because of space and time limitations," said Sheldon Snook, administrative assistant to Chief Judge Thomas F. Hogan. Snook added that some bloggers also bring expertise that is welcome in court.
Several media experts have been predicting a greater presence of bloggers in court — as defendants. For instance, Kunkel, who is also president of the American Journalism Review, said courts might soon draw the limits of what is acceptable by imposing hefty libel and defamation judgments on bloggers, many of whom do not realize their writings can have expensive legal consequences.
According to the Media Law Resource Center, 69 lawsuits have been brought against bloggers nationwide, including a $1 million suit filed last year against Maine blogger Lance Dutson, who accused his state's tourism department of wasting taxpayer money in a promotional campaign. The advertising agency that developed it sued for libel, defamation and copyright infringement but ended up dropping the suit after advocates rallied to Dutson's defense.
The MBA is working to raise standards for bloggers. Getting those seats at the trial goes a long way toward getting official recognition of bloggers as journalists.
Blogosphere, Media | Gaius January 11, 2007
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Blue Crab Boulevard » The Vaunted Checks And Balances On Full Display — January 11, 2007 @ 7:39 am
By Seeking Sanity, January 19, 2007 @ 6:04 pm
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