Now for the good news

Legislators are protecting bloggers' right to freedom of speech – and anonymity too, at least in the States.

As this Wired article points out, "the ruling effectively differentiates conventional news media, which can be sued relatively easily for libel, from certain forms of online communication such as moderated e-mail lists".

One implication is that DIY publishers like bloggers cannot be sued as easily.

"One-way news publications have editors and fact-checkers, and they're not just selling information – they're selling reliability," said Cindy Cohn, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "But on blogs or e-mail lists, people aren't necessarily selling anything, they're just engaging in speech. That freedom of speech wouldn't exist if you were held liable for every piece of information you cut, paste and forward."

And that's about where the good news stops. Because as media converges online, bloggers increasingly break stories. As they act like professional journalists, they're being treated accordingly. Take the recent case of Christopher Elliot.

After the would-be underwear bomber, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued a security directive. Among other short-lived measures, it required passengers hands to be empty – no books, no knitting and also no in-flight entertainment – for the last hour. Elliott published the full text on his travel blog. Shortly thereafter, a federal agent knocked on his door.

"I got a 'C' in media law class," the writer mused at a 2010 Seattle Consortium of Online Travel (SCOOT) meet-up. "But I still remembered to ask for a supoena."

Elliot – also a MSM reporter and National Geographic Traveler's reader advocate – stood firm, refusing to reveal his source.

"I learned a very tough lesson. The public has a right to know, but the people who publish the info are unprotected. I was really quaking during this event."

From Texas to China to Azerbaijan, more and more bloggers are winding up in jail – just like professional journalists, but with far fewer resources to fight back. The World Information Access Report claims that blogger arrests around the world tripled between 2006-2008.

Media Blogger Association president Robert Cox observed that lawsuits against bloggers more than double each year now. "Bloggers have a tendency to believe myths—like that they are judgment-proof," he told the The San Francisco Chronicle.

So be careful out there. Check your facts. State your sources. Don't steal. And play nicely with others.