Are bloggers journalists?
Last week, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg ruled in favour of Apple Computer, subpoenaing three online reporters to reveal their sources regarding the Mac Mini computer.
All US citizens are protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution (which guarantees free speech) but Kleinberg ruled that in this case, these bloggers were not because they had published trade secrets.
The judge made no decision about whether the bloggers were in fact journalists. He simply ruled that no one has the right to publish information that could have only been provided by someone breaking the law. Under California law, divulging trade secrets is a civil and criminal offence.
Many industry watchers wondered how Kleinberg would have dealt with the 'Are bloggers journalists?' question. In the end, he deftly avoided the question by stating that the journalistic status of the bloggers didn't matter because the articles concerned contained trade secrets that were, in effect, stolen property. And that's wrong regardless of whether the writer is a journalist.
All US citizens are protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution (which guarantees free speech) but Kleinberg ruled that in this case, these bloggers were not because they had published trade secrets.
The judge made no decision about whether the bloggers were in fact journalists. He simply ruled that no one has the right to publish information that could have only been provided by someone breaking the law. Under California law, divulging trade secrets is a civil and criminal offence.
Many industry watchers wondered how Kleinberg would have dealt with the 'Are bloggers journalists?' question. In the end, he deftly avoided the question by stating that the journalistic status of the bloggers didn't matter because the articles concerned contained trade secrets that were, in effect, stolen property. And that's wrong regardless of whether the writer is a journalist.
posted by DC at 3:05 PM
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