There must be something wrong with asking bloggers to report like journalists but respond like citizens. They are increasingly held to the same standards as professional reporters; yet they are not offered the same legal privileges journalists enjoy. Here is why:
Journalists comply by a professional ethics code that promotes integrity. Independent reporting is critical for the credibility of news organizations and winning the public trust. That's why reporters must remain autonomous from business interests—they either don't accept freebies in exchange for coverage or are transparent about it.
Since October 2009, bloggers have to abide by the same standards. In order to prevent corruption of public trust in the digital era, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently revised its guides to include a clause obliging bloggers to disclose “the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.” Bloggers now have to announce their endorsements openly or pay a fine up to $11,000 per post for violating the new rule.
Because journalists comply by a set of professional norms and work for news organizations that serve the public, they enjoy certain legal privileges. The shield law, for instance, protects them against revealing confidential information and sources. This enables reporters to keep their promises of confidentiality in exchange for valuable information.
These same privileges, however, are far from reaching bloggers. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently requested that bloggers Steven Frischling and Chris Elliot disclose confidential sources in their individual posts about the new flight security measures. In response to the attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) increased its inspections. Frischling and Elliot confidentially received the TSA Security Directive and published it on their blogs, here and here.
As the two writers blog about latest travel news and tips, they wanted to give their readers heads up about the increased security measures. Their posts quickly crawled news sites and the social mediasphere. Soon enough, the TSA special agents knocked on Frischling and Elliot's doors, with subpoenas in hand, asking each of the bloggers to reveal their sources.
So, in terms of receiving freebies, the law has high expectations of bloggers (similar to those of professional journalists). The public trust can't be compromised. But when it comes to giving bloggers special rights, the situation is different. Then, the public trust can be compromised.
How are we going to settle this?
Photo credit: an untrained eye
