There’s a debate brewing in the small Portland, Oregon, suburb of Lake Oswego that could have implications for any freelance writer who uses a blog to report the news.
At the heart of the controversy is a simple question: are bloggers reporters? The city of Lake Oswego doesn’t think so, and is taking steps to keep bloggers out of certain city meetings.
As the Oregonian explained in this story about the situation, the state’s open meetings law allows reporters to attend a city council’s or school board’s otherwise off-the-record, executive sessions when a handful of topics are being discussed such as personnel matters or land deals. The Lake Oswego city council decided in August that Mark Bunster, the author of a local political blog called Loaded Orygun, wasn’t a reporter and therefore couldn’t attend its executive meetings. One reason for the stand: there wouldn’t be any responsible party to complain to if Bunster broke the confidentiality agreement and reported on what was said in the meetings. The Lake Owsego city attorney is investigating the situation and is supposed to give the council his report this week. One possibility being explored is issuing some type of credential, but press advocates are concerned that the hoops a lone blogger/reporter would have to jump through in order to get a credential would take so long they wouldn’t be able to attend executive sessions on short notice.
With more news being written and produced outside traditional publishing venues of newspapers and magazines, it’s getting harder to define what a news organization is, and subsequently, who a reporter is. The situation will only get more complicated as more long-time newspaper and magazine staff writers are pushed out, take buy-out packages or leave of their own volition but continue doing the same type of work for blogs such as Talking Points Memo, non-profit news organizations like the Center for Investigative Journalism or privately funded investigative Websites such as ProPublica or on their own blogs or Websites.
The writers and bloggers who work for such organizations haven’t changed what they do, just where their work is published. Does that make them any less of a reporter? It’s the same question freelancers have had to contend with for years – just because we aren’t on staff somewhere, does that make us something less than “real” writers? Hardly.
But what about bloggers who never worked for a newspaper or magazine but are covering Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohan, are they reporters? What if they cover community news, tech start ups or the presidential election? Should they get credentials to meetings and events?
Speaking as a long-time reporter, freelancer and blogger, I say, yes, they should.
What do you think? Have you run into similar situations in your state?
This is a tough question. It’s easy to dismiss bloggers as loose cannons or hacks. However, this is often not the case. Does the blogger in question not have any professional ties?
I blog, but I’m also a member of a nationally recognized professional writer’s association and have a press pass. While my blog is light and fun, I have a Masters in journalism. I know the craft that goes behind getting a story. I know how to conduct interviews, understand journalistic ethics, how to quote sources, how not to quote sources. I’ve also proven myself through professional publications which involved a thorough, professional editorial process.
Just because someone writes a blog doesn’t mean they are part of the legitimate media. Just because someone writes a blogs doesn’t mean they are NOT part of legitimate media. But if all you do is blog? Well, I think it’s reasonable to have some form of vetting process. Ah… therein lies the rub.
I haven’t run into this situation, but from your description of the issue, I think the council’s concerns are valid.
Freelancers reporting for the blogs you mention should be able to get press credentials from those organizations. Lone bloggers who regularly cover news events should probably go through some kind of process for acquiring credentials, so that the closed meetings are protected.
That’s my very quick take on it, anyway. I don’t think it’s a question of whether bloggers are journalists, or “real” writers. I think it’s about accountability, and a necessary issue to address because of the emergence of new media.
Very interesting!
Bloggers are no different from reporters. Bloggers and reporters write thing based largely in their point of view. The problem may be that bloggers can be a bit more free with their words because their is less of a fear of being fired or punished.
Interesting perspective Jewelryrockstar, though I disagree, as does Charmian. There are differences between bloggers and reporters. While some reporters are bloggers, not all bloggers are reporters. The difference is that reporters do primary research by conducting interviews and digging into public records to piece together a story, while bloggers – at least in some cases – provide commentary or analysis on issues where they don’t do any primary reporting.
As for suggestions that bloggers should get credentials, that’s a topic being debated in online news circles. In the Lake Oswego situation, the problem was the credential process was so long that unless a blogger had already gone through it there was no way they could jump through the necessary hoops quickly enough to attend executive sessions that were called at the spur of the moment.
Would like to know how this turned out. While way “ex post facto,” I’d like to chime in. I remember sitting in on a debate a few years whenthis stuff was still in its infancy about whether bloggers writing about the news should be considered and credentialed the same as news reporters.
My thought then was “no” due to the fact bloggers were not part of an institution and therefore adhered to no structure, standards or codes of ethics. There are no degrees in Bloggerism.
You cannot be considered an “estate” without having some formal structure and standards. Can bloggers report news? Yes (it may be argued they are more editorial than news because bloggers like to add their take when blogging). Can reporters blog? Certainly. Many do. And while there may not be a difference between the information they publish, there is a fundamental difference between their professions (and blogging is the profession of just a very very few bloggers).
Today, I am thinking that we all have the capability to report news whether its publishing a video on YouTube of a plane landing on the Hudson River, or witnessing an event and “tweeting” it on Twitter. As a result, there may be more people who can make an argument that they, too, deserve access that is now provided to the tradtional reporter and perhaps the blogger. Something’s got to give.