Are bloggers journalists? Was Madison a blogger?

While Jay Rosen calls this debate over, it's not over until the courts decide it is.

Christian Science Monitor examines the Apple vs. Apple fan bloggers lawsuit, and asks if bloggers are entitled to press protection:

In the small universe of powerful bloggers, Joshua Micah Marshall and John Hinderaker are separated by 900 miles and an even wider political divide. Mr. Marshall leans to the left from Washington D.C., while Mr. Hinderaker, a Minneapolis attorney, sits firmly in the conservative camp. But the two men do share something in common: No one is really sure what to think of them.

Are they journalists with an obligation to check facts, run
corrections, and disclose conflicts of interest? Or are they ordinary
opinion-slingers, like barbers or bartenders, with no special
responsibilities - or rights?

Now in California, a court will soon decide whether
bloggers have the same legal protections as journalists under "shield"
laws that protect reporters from revealing their sources. Among Apple's
targets is a 19-year-old blogger who twice recently leaked information
about new company products weeks before Apple unveiled the products
themselves.

What led me to this article was Rex Hammock's post Would the Federalist Papers receive "press protection".

"...the primary authors of the Constitution did not use the "press," but, rather,
used the anonymously written "blogs" of their era, "pamphlets", as their primary
means of simply expressing opinions to a tny audience.

That's bound to catch Shel Holtz' eye. Shel points out that pamphleteers were nothing like bloggers because of no trackbacks or commenting. And that's true.

However, as I have said before, Federalist Paper authors Madison, Hamilton, and Jay were the bloggers of their era, if you are looking for serial posts, comments, and trackbacks.

For Hammock is wrong about the pamphlets: Madison, Hamilton, and Jay did not publish their articles as pamphlets, but as op-ed pieces in the New York papers The Independent Journal, the New-York Packet, and the Daily Advertiser.

So -- inadvertantly -- Hammock is right that this was blogging (for its time). The 85 "posts" were made over 10 months,built on one another (trackbacks), and created a firestorm of counter-editorials, letters-the-editor, and public gatherings (comments).

But it's hard to answer Hammock's question (would they enjoy press protection today), which is why I believe we will see more court interest. Published as "Op-Ed" pieces in the New York Times or the Washington Post, they would be protected. Published on blogs... who's to know?

My guess is that Madison and Jay would opt to back bloggers to the hilt.

Update: corrected a link and a misprint.

Ethics call: One readers asks, "how do you answer the questions posed about Marshall and Hinderaker?"

I answer:

"They are obligated to check facts, run corrections, and disclose conflicts of interest."

Next?

Posted by Allan Jenkins on February 3, 2005 at 11:49 AM in Blogging, Citizen Journalism, Journalism, Law, Writing I Enjoy | Permalink

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Still, they were anonymous op-ed pieces: Allan Jenkins, who has explored in the past the blogging metaphor as it relates to the authors of the Federalist Papers -- corrects something from my earlier post on the topic: He explains they weren't pamphlets, b [Read More]

Tracked on Feb 3, 2005 8:41:21 PM

Comments

Thanks for the clarification.

Posted by: Rex Hammock | Feb 3, 2005 8:18:06 PM

Allan,
I'm following the press on this issue, and I agree (although I do not pose as a journalist) that I am obligated to check facts, get permission to quote, and stick to basic pr (as well as my own) ethics. I suppose it's ingrained from the UVA honor system...the pledge on every exam. Nonetheless, thanks for your post.
Lovelace

Posted by: Lovelace Cook | Feb 4, 2005 6:11:03 AM

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