Rhys's Blog Entry 4
Submitted by Rhys Woolf on Wed, 31/10/2007 - 13:30.
Much like Web sites, blogs have become ubiquitous virtually overnight. As most blogs are interactive and invite feedback from readers, the blogging dichotomy has emerged as a viable alternative news medium. The growing impact of bloggers ultimately comes in their antagonistic approach to correcting or supplementing reports given in the mainstream media. Many blogs provide a unique and unconventional perspective on the local and national news.
The wall street journal recorded that “the number of Americans reading blogs jumped 58% in 2004 to an estimated 32 million people…with about 11 million looking to political blogs for news surrounding the presidential campaign.”
With the increase availability of blogs and the uncensored information they are allowed to expose, the inevitable questions of rights and ethics of bloggers are raised. Do bloggers deserve the same rights and privileges of protection that journalists do? On one hand bloggers are acting in the same manner of accredited journalists, whereby they the report their information offering their own specific social agenda. However on the other hand, “the prospect of 10, 20, or 50 million bloggers claiming journalistic privileges terrifies judges and First Amendment lawyers alike, since they fear that anyone who has a Web site, if called to testify to a grand jury could claim the privilege and refuse to cooperate.”
Whatever side of the public debate holds firmer, there is one certain ethical standard that all bloggers should ascertain to, and that is the representation of truth. They have the obligation to verify and state all sources and claim that their information is attributed to their opinion, as well as are aware of unjust accusations and avoid conflict of interests that may compromise their objectivity. By understanding these simple principles the blogger can be understood as a source of truth and honest justified political or social criticism.
Richard A. Spinello. Cyberethics: Morality and Law in Cyberspace. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2006
