(iverson's) currentbuzz

The Tyranny Of Government And Our Duty Of Confidentiality As Bloggers. TechCrunch‘s Michael Arrington discusses two bloggers who were recently served with subpoenas from the TSA, a government agency. One blogger refused to reveal his sources. The other, who was served as he was babysitting for his children, gave his computer over to the TSA. Arrington asserts that:

“As bloggers, we have a duty of confidentiality to our sources. And that means keeping information confidential even if threatened with the tyranny of government. And even if the legislatures and courts haven’t decided that as bloggers we have real rights protecting us from that tyranny.”

I agree with Arrington. The First Amendment (see it below) protects freedom of the press without any caveat about bloggers. The founders wisely did not define “press” so that it meant employees of corporate media companies, for example. However, I’ve sat across the table from a reporter who was facing jail, and thinking hard about what a jail term means when you have a 3 year old at home and a spouse to support. The theoretic collides on such occasions with the practical and that is how people are tested. It isn’t easy.

That said, bloggers who aren’t writing fiction, and are exercising their right to free speech and serving as the press, need to buck up and consider the risks that go with any expression of ideas. Liberty isn’t license, and blogging isn’t just blathering unless that is how you treat it.

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• TSA Backs Down, Withdraws Legal Threats Against Bloggers (mashable.com)

Came across this in passing, but I thought it was funny and much more interesting than a simple text screed would have been. ONA might warrant a pictorial report like this. Good work, Leah. Plus, I admire librarians tremendously.

As promised, I wanted to go over a bit of what my experience at the American Library Association 2009 was like to endure. And yes, I used the word endure. It actually did remind me somewhat of going to a outdoor festival. But with less of this

via ALA 2009: A Perspective « La de da.

YouTube – reporterscenter’s Channel.

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• YouTube Rolls Out Redesigned Channels for All New Users (mashable.com)

[Update] Thanks to Todd Allen of Chicago Tech News for this more nuanced discussion of the issue of payola, bloggers, journalists, and the FTC. The FTC’s definitions of who is or isn’t a blogger will be problematic I expect.
The FTC

is poised to go after bloggers and the companies that fund them if they don’t disclose their payments and conflicts of interest.

via Payola bloggers, FTC is watching you | ZDNet Government | ZDNet.com.

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• Watch Out Corporate Bloggers, FTC is on to you! (thegenesherpa.blogspot.com)
• FTC To Monitor Blogs For Paid Claims & Reviews (news.slashdot.org)
• FTC to crack down on undisclosed “sponsored” blogging (arstechnica.com)
• AP: FTC to monitor blogs for ‘tainted reviews’ (blogs.journalism.co.uk)

Met this guy at CMFC

Casey Cora.

SouthtownStar – Tinley Park, Ill.
Reporter - Municipal beat reporter for Oak Lawn, a village of about 60,000 on Chicago’s southwest side. I’m trying to incorporate more multimedia and Web 2.0 tools into my beat coverage, and at the newspaper’s Web site.

St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times
Reporter – tampabay.com April 2007 – present
Produced the newspaper’s breaking news blog; responsibilities on any given day include police reporting, news photography, finding and creating multimedia opportunities, crafting Web headlines and coordinating breaking news coverage across multiple bureaus.
Reporter – Dec. 2006 – April 2007