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Bloggers Not Journalists, Federal Judge Rules

Posted by timothy on from the occupation-foole dept.

New submitter squideatingdough writes "On InfoWorld, Robert X. Cringely covers a recent case of a blogger accused of libel and defamation. The federal judge ruled that journalists warrant more protection from libel suits than bloggers, but it is obvious from the article that bloggers' rights can vary by state, depending on the 'shield laws' in force." Reader blindseer adds a link to this AP article on the case, and asks "If the government can define who is part of the press, and therefore gets First Amendment protections, then where does that place the freedom of the press?" The slippery slope is a steep one; even some relatively open societies require licensure for journalists (visiting ones included) with predictable results. (And the Labour Party would like to see a similar system in the UK.)

5 of 353 comments (clear)

  1. Definition of a journalist by elrous0 · · Score: 3, Funny

    You're not a journalist unless you work for a print newspaper that's about to lay you off and go bankrupt.

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  2. Re:The case is a bit different... by binary+paladin · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wait a minute? Are you saying that the situation is more complex and reasonable than the sensationalist headline implies?

    No. Not here. You sir must be mistaken.

    (Thanks for your reasonable input.)

  3. Re:It's Not ALL Bloggers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Listen, if you think you can represent yourself in court, your probably not a real journalist.

    Likewise, if you think "your" means "you are", you're probably not a real journalist.

  4. Re:It's Not ALL Bloggers by KiloByte · · Score: 3, Funny

    Libel: Obama is an antichrist muslim terrorist. He lied, cheated, and stole in order to get elected. He did so purposely to steal money and use his power to help himself and his friends get ahead at the expense of the common guy. He's an asshole, a racist, and a hatemonger.

    A bad example -- outside of the UK, truth is an absolute defense when accused of libel :-p

    --
    The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
  5. Re:It's Not ALL Bloggers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Obama is an antichrist muslim terrorist. He lied, cheated, and stole in order to get elected. He did so purposely to steal money and use his power to help himself and his friends get ahead at the expense of the common guy. He's an asshole, a racist, and a hatemonger.

    You know, if you're just going to copy from fox news, you could at the very least cite them.