Blogger May Test Shield Law

Submitted by CBT on Tue, 2008/02/12 - 5:50pm.

A Memphis blogger apparently received inside information from the police which he published on his blog. Is he entitled to a journalist's shield? Should Randy watch this case with interest?

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I thought Shield Laws were

I thought Shield Laws were useless even for MSM. See old Judith Miller.

True happiness is knowing you are a hypocrite. -- Ivor Cutler

There's no federal shield

There's no federal shield law. Not sure about NY, but that doesn't matter if it's a federal case.

Pam Strickland

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut

Surely there will be lawyers

Surely there will be lawyers eager to represent Matthews pro bono, or at least to contribute to his defense.

Andy Axel's picture
Should Randy watch this case

Should Randy watch this case with interest?

Going for a "chilling effect," Chad? I think Brian Conley already went that route.

There's some precedent here. It usually doesn't go in favor of the censors.

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With the possible exception of things like box scores, race results, and stock market tabulations, there is no such thing as Objective Journalism. The phrase itself is a pompous contradiction in terms.

Going for a "chilling

Going for a "chilling effect," Chad?

Utterly ridiculous.

Andy, take a deep breath. That Randy should be concerned is a joke. It was not a serious comment. You clearly don't know me well, if at all.

The case in Memphis does raise interesting questions about what some 'bloggers' actually are, are they journalists? Knoxviews is a bit different than some blogs in that folks other than Randy post content. Let's take Hornback for example. Only he posts content on his blog. Is he a journalist entitled to protection?

I expect there will be some interesting litigation should the DA in Memphis choose to press this issue. I would think some groups would offer legal representation to the blogger.

Andy Axel's picture
That Randy should be

That Randy should be concerned is a joke. It was not a serious comment.

Neither was mine. Ha?

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With the possible exception of things like box scores, race results, and stock market tabulations, there is no such thing as Objective Journalism. The phrase itself is a pompous contradiction in terms.

You clearly don't know me

You clearly don't know me well, if at all.

I definitely do not know you. I did wonder about that comment.

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