Sunday, January 29, 2006

Could blogs get tangled in web of ethics rules?

This is very interesting...
Should bloggers be regarded as a part of the news media, exempt from such rules, or should they be seen as partisan actors in a campaign who must register?

Some quotes from the story:
You have to twist logic into a complete pretzel to say that blogs aren’t a form of
journalism.

It depends on what their purpose is. If the blog is created to advocate the election or defeat of someone, they should (file).

I’m a one-man show. This is my opinion. Why should I be regulated for my opinions?

So, where do we fit in?
Really, we can (and do) say whatever we want. Is that a bad thing? It is unfair? Can it be misleading? Can it spread lies? Should it be regulated if you have a certain number of viewers? Anything else?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Since when do laws have to be logical?

The Game said...

give me more than that

Anonymous said...

Oh spit, Game! They just want to ruin all our fun.

Anonymous said...

Actually, Game it sounds rather scary. I'll have to read more on it later today. Good post. Very interesting and informative about what may be coming.

Anonymous said...

Dude, my stance is pretty straight forward. Fewer laws, please.

The Game said...

I guess if they are going to have to make laws, maybe it will have to do where blogs get their money from or how many people go to them...otherwise I don't see how or why they would be regulated...

But think of this...if a blogger simply makes something up that is flat out a lie, shouldn't there be a consequence?

Mark said...

I don't have opinions. I have convictions. But they are protected under the first amendment, too.

Mark said...

If bloggers weren't allowed to lie, what would the Daily Kos do?

Anonymous said...

"But think of this...if a blogger simply makes something up that is flat out a lie, shouldn't there be a consequence?"

The waters are 'muddied':

Well, part of the problem is the definition of a "lie". I've noticed bloggers that put their own interpretation (spin) on reality. But is that the same as a "lie"?
To some of them it really isn't.
Some people believe their own BS.
Then again, some people find 'tidbits', they believe are real, post about them as though they are real, only to find out later they aren't. That's why Fact Checker, and several other sites exist to clarify. But what if there wasn't a way to check the validity of the rumor, or lie?
We would then have to delve into the intent of the blogger.
And we would have to look at the potential for harm.
Since this area is abstract in nature, there would be a host of additional complicated, potential evils we would have to look into, if there was an effort to regulate blogs to prevent abuses.
Therefore, in the final analysis, I think this sort of regulation would place severe restrictions on our freedom of speech.
I can see a whole new mess of lawsuits marching forward.

But yeah, about the only way they could regulate is to monitor where blogs receive their money from. I'm not so sure about the wisdom of regulations based on the number of people that frequent the blog though, unless it was a very, very high number. Even then, consider that besides taking a while to build up a following, the census would fluctuate. I've seen the census of different blogsites severely drop in just a couple of weeks. There could be a census range, but that would be muddy water too.

The Game said...

They should really just leave us alone...
but if someone simply makes up a lie about someone, there might have to be consequences

realdebate said...

BRING IT ON

realdebate said...

Then again if it could could shut down daily Kos

Anonymous said...

Laws about "lies" would deter trolls.

From the Desk of David Pogue: How to Be a Curmudgeon on the Internet
8. Trolling is making a deliberately inflammatory remark, one that you know perfectly well is baloney, just to get a rise out of other people. Trolling is an art. Trolling works just fine for an audience of one (say, a journalist), but of course the real fun is trolling on public bulletin boards where you can get dozens of people screaming at you simultaneously. Comments on religion, politics or Mac-vs.-Windows are always good bets. The talented troll sits back to enjoy the fireworks with a smirk, and never, ever responds to the responses.

Anonymous said...

Shit, Game...there's way too much spin going on EVERYWHERE, for various reasons...in far more important places than blogs. The government would do well to saty away from trivial matters.