The Obama campaign has been attempting to be responsive to the blogging community since the early days of our campaign. We have been considering bloggers journalists, and therefore, not letting them into non-press events. This has not gone over well with some of the blogging community, and a backlash may occur if bloggers begin to feel the need to conceal their identities at official events. Is there a need for this? We hope not; and with the input from the blogging community, we are hoping to continue to serve the blogosphere with as much access as they desire and require.
We are also continuing to offer invitations today for Bloggers to comment on the Patriot Act, Internet Privacy, Net Neutrality, and Blogger Rights.
Should bloggers be considered journalists? Should bloggers have access to press passes through the same outlets as traditional media? Should they accept press passes?
(Comments from bloggers and content of blogs are independent of the Obama campaign and do not represent our opinion… we might read them, but we don’t condone all of the content!)
Jeralyn Merritt TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime
Not every blogger wants to be considered a journalist. Some prefer to be activists and others just commentators. But those who do, whether they do original reporting or aggregate material from the mainstream media, whether they write neutrally or provide commentary, can be considered journalists. We pick up the phone, send off an e-mail and do research on Lexis-Nexis just as well as anyone else. We source our material. We are quick to correct mistakes. Many of us have backgrounds in fields like law, economics and the social sciences. Combining that expertise with an ability to write and tell a story is more than adequate. As for the blogs that do original reporting, some are as good if not better than the mainstream media. Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo is a prime example of superb, sourced, fact-based, investigative journalism. Should bloggers have access to press passes through the same outlets as traditional media? Should they accept press passes? Absolutely, to both questions. I was one of the credentialed bloggers for the 2004 Democratic primary. All of us worked our tails off. We attended and reported on the speeches and events in the conference hall. We interviewed candidates and politicians and uploaded original photos. We tried to make our readers feel like they were there with us so they could share in the excitement. Almost all of us did this on our own dime, with help from our readers. We took it very seriously. Same thing for those of us who got press passes for the Scooter Libby trial. Firedoglake's coverage was as good as and usually more detailed than the MSM reporting.Clearly, there's an audience out there that is hungry for citizen media. Bloggers on both sides of the political aisle provide it. We've already proven ourselves to be responsible journalists and opinion columnists. It's only right that we get to sit in the front of the bus with everyone else.
Not every blogger wants to be considered a journalist. Some prefer to be activists and others just commentators. But those who do, whether they do original reporting or aggregate material from the mainstream media, whether they write neutrally or provide commentary, can be considered journalists. We pick up the phone, send off an e-mail and do research on Lexis-Nexis just as well as anyone else. We source our material. We are quick to correct mistakes. Many of us have backgrounds in fields like law, economics and the social sciences. Combining that expertise with an ability to write and tell a story is more than adequate. As for the blogs that do original reporting, some are as good if not better than the mainstream media. Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo is a prime example of superb, sourced, fact-based, investigative journalism.
Should bloggers have access to press passes through the same outlets as traditional media? Should they accept press passes?
Absolutely, to both questions. I was one of the credentialed bloggers for the 2004 Democratic primary. All of us worked our tails off. We attended and reported on the speeches and events in the conference hall. We interviewed candidates and politicians and uploaded original photos. We tried to make our readers feel like they were there with us so they could share in the excitement. Almost all of us did this on our own dime, with help from our readers. We took it very seriously. Same thing for those of us who got press passes for the Scooter Libby trial. Firedoglake's coverage was as good as and usually more detailed than the MSM reporting.
Clearly, there's an audience out there that is hungry for citizen media. Bloggers on both sides of the political aisle provide it. We've already proven ourselves to be responsible journalists and opinion columnists. It's only right that we get to sit in the front of the bus with everyone else.
Sven from My Silver State
There has been some debate whether bloggers should be considered journalists, most recently on the McLaughlin Group. My answer to that is not a clear cut 'yes' as this is a little more complicated. First of all, it depends on the blogger. What is he or she blogging about? Is it just personal information, recipes, gardening? If you qualify it more and talk about political bloggers, there are those who try to report, yet may also editorialize and those who are rambling. But then, don't your local newspaper columnists have a tendency to ramble as well? Political bloggers have had a growing impact in the last couple of years, especially on the left where it is a bottom-up movement which stands in stark contrast to the right, where the blogging community is not only smaller but often also top-down, meaning a lot of bloggers have already established themselves in the political arena through other means.
Stephen from SteveAudio
Yes, yes, and yes. Clearly the idea of the "journalist" has changed in recent years since the advent of blogs. The assumption of bloggers as partisan, or issue-driven, is really a myth spread by the traditional media. I make no attempt to hide my liberal, pro-Democratic ideology. But does that make me unfit to be considered a journalist? No.Even before Fox News we had agenda-driven journalists. Does anyone think a credentialed reporter from the NRA would be an unbiased commentator? Or how about one from the Wall Street Journal? The difference with bloggers is that we, on both the left and the right (largely) are open about our biases, unlike the aforementioned Fox, which hides behind their "Fair And Balanced" slogan.
Yes, yes, and yes. Clearly the idea of the "journalist" has changed in recent years since the advent of blogs. The assumption of bloggers as partisan, or issue-driven, is really a myth spread by the traditional media. I make no attempt to hide my liberal, pro-Democratic ideology. But does that make me unfit to be considered a journalist? No.
Even before Fox News we had agenda-driven journalists. Does anyone think a credentialed reporter from the NRA would be an unbiased commentator? Or how about one from the Wall Street Journal? The difference with bloggers is that we, on both the left and the right (largely) are open about our biases, unlike the aforementioned Fox, which hides behind their "Fair And Balanced" slogan.
Blue Sage from Desert Beacon
One of the issues related to blogging that's not been worked out as yet is how to classify blog activity. There are some bloggers who do some very impressive research, conduct interviews, all while compiling and reporting data in context; for these blogs press credentials would definitely be appropriate. These internet reporters should also be protected by appropriate shield laws. There are other blogs that are purely derivative, whose purpose isn't reporting or compiling, but more often constitute political amplifiers for party spin operations. Complicating the situation, there are countless blogs that fall between these two ends of the spectrum. In the absence of any other criteria available at the moment, "self description" might be the most efficacious way of handling the situation.
Jack Wood from Nye-Gateway to Nevada’s Rurals
Should bloggers be considered journalists? Certainly not as “professional” journalists. I think of us bloggers as active, informed people who observe what is going on and commenting on our perception of what it means in our communities, state and nationally. Bloggers don’t necessarily have the means to uncover what goes on around us. Journalists, in my view, go dig up information and report factually on what they learn. Bloggers use the information as a platform to express their analysis and opinions about it. Bloggers are a blend of journalism and Op/Ed writers, if that makes sense. Yes, I think bloggers should have access to press passes and accept them. Hilary Grey, Communications Director of the Clinton campaign, has expressly said to me that they consider bloggers as journalists. She sends me press releases from the Clinton campaign and I have been invited to participate in tele-conferences with Senator Clinton, and done so. I was issued a media pass to Senator Clinton’s recent appearance in Pahrump. I lined up with about a dozen members of the local media and videotaped her appearance. Then I wrote a blog post about the event with video. I think it is a good thing. The views of bloggers are often at odds with the main stream media and provide people with an alternative view of things.
Hugh Jackson Las Vegas Gleaner
I think we're beyond this part of the discussion, frankly -- asking if bloggers are journalists or should be given press credentials is, to me anyway, no different than asking if a writer for a weekly newspaper or magazine are journalists and should be given press passes. And I don't see anybody asking if, say, Byron York of National Review should be eligible for a press pass.
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