my social production

I’ve been thinking more and more about the internet and democracy, specifically bloggers’ rights vs journalists’ rights with regards to free speech. As it becomes easier for writers to get set up with their own personal publishing platforms, the distinction between “blogger” and “journalist” becomes grayer and much less relevant.

Work is generally acknowledged as journalism if meets three criteria:

1. it is written by a careerist (ie someone who identifies him or herself as a reporter or columnist),
2. it is published or transmitted by an established organization,
3. it covers topics related to current events, people, trends and issues.

And yet, high quality writing that meets the 3rd criteria is being produced daily by thousands of individuals who do not enjoy the same protections and rights that traditional journalists enjoy. These such writers are known collectively by the pejorative term “bloggers” and judged as second class simply because they self-publish.