Scott’s Blog Experience

The recent controversy over whether or not a local blogger is a Journalist or not, made it to local broadcasting tonight. Elaine Hopkins, a former reporter for the Peoria Journal Star, and who runs a blog called “PeoriaStory“, doesn’t understand why a Judge removed her from a Courtroom during a closed hearing.

Bloggers have every 1st Amendment Right as everyone else does including a Journalist. Bloggers are shaping the new American Internet Culture, and should be given credit for changing the way the mainstream medial reports the news. Blogging is, and was pioneered by self expression of ones own beliefs, thoughts, and opinions. Some of those beliefs and opinons are political in nature and have found there way into the mainstream media. Some local, and National Blogs have become extremely popular. That does not mean they are Journalist’s. Some news blogs I read are filled with political opinions rather than fact. Most blogs are NOT credible sources of fact. Some blogs are great sources of fact, and I read them before I read the Newspaper. (Online of course)Most of them have scooped local medial and has shed light on a story otherwise overlooked. However, credible or non-credible, they are NOT responsible for what they write about. No Laws Govern blogging and self expression thru the 1st Amendment. Journalist’s are governed by an Editor, and the company they work for, not to mention the ehthics of Journalistic integrity.

Journalist’s are supposed to be unbiased and report the facts as a matter of record, not how “they” interpret the facts. Bloggers write about what is important to them as bloggers, thus they can say anything they want.

Bill over at the Peoria Pundit thinks that just because you are reporting the news to the masses, you are a journalist. I have to disagree with him (respectfully of course). Remember the New York Times Reporter Jason Blair that was fired for making stories up. Was he a Journalist? What about Janet Cooke, formerly of the Washington Post, the New Republic’s Stephen Glass, the Boston Globe’s Patricia Smith, and Jay Forman in Slate as journalists who got caught embellishing, exaggerating, and outright lying in print. Were all they Journalist?

Elaine, I like your blog, but as you said.

“The juvenile court system is closed to the public ostensibly to protect the privacy of the children and their families. But in reality the secrecy also allows these courts to operate without any public oversight”.

I am pretty sure, the children in this case were the most important issue at hand. Quite frankly, if they were my children, the last person I would want writing about them would be a blogger who did not have a press pass.

As a Journalist, you have the responsibility to a code of Journalistic ethics and the rules governing the protection of Juveniles, as a blogger you have none. NO code, no nothing, you could have said anything you wanted to. You might uphold those ethics as a blogger, (I am sure you do). However, bloggospere has not matured enough yet to develop a sense of ehthics governing themselves that I have seen.

Solution: I am sure there is a middle ground for credible blogging sites that want to report news, to cover court room business. Maybe news bloggers can apply for a “Internet bloggers” press pass and a credible news group or a board of directors so to speak, can police blogging sites that have aquired them. From what I have seen on the Internet, it’s not that hard to aquire a press pass anyway. Bloggers that report the news should have the same code of ethics news agencies have now, and they should be held accountable if they falsify stories, or break ethics rules that have been long standing in the Journalism business.

Technorati Tags: Elaine Hopkins, Bloggers and Press Passes, Press Pass for Bloggers, Albert Purham, Jr