There’s an interesting piece in today’s New York Times — an opinion
piece — that discusses the Blogger’s right/privilege to maintain the
privacy of their sources. In the US it’s called the First Amendment
right. In Canada:
Freedom of the Press is enshrined in Section 2 of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982), part of the Canadian
Constitution, which states that everyone has the right to freedom of
thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press
and other media of communicationÂ
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter/index.html.
But, since Blogging has such a low Ëœbarrier to entry’ — Bloggers
don’t have to attend Journalism school, cut their teeth in the boonies
working on weekly papers, work weekends and graveyards covering the
newsroom, learning the craft, understanding why a story leads (or
doesn’t) — a blogger may have little experience with (or care about)
the other side of the coin, the Journalist’s responsibility to
objectivity and truth.
Journalists know that there are many sides to a story, and objective
journalists attempt to present all sides fairly, without colour or
prejudice. Journalists report on the facts. Can we say the same about
bloggers? What about Blogs hosted by a biased PR or Marketing company -
do they get the Journalist’s Privilege the same as a News Blogger?
Interesting questions that time will answer.
[Sources: Micro Persuasion Blog | Canadian Connections: Canada and Press Freedom | New York Times (subscription required) ]