The Christian Science Monitor has an interesting article that asks the question, Are bloggers journalists and therefore, are entitled to the same legal protections about free speech and protecting sources that journalists have? There’s a court case going on right now in which Apple Computers is suing a blogger who posted leaked information about Apple’s new products before they were officially announced. As the article notes,

To some, blogs sound like high-tech versions of newspaper op-ed pages full of commentaries and letters to the editor. But bloggers say they’re more than that. “I describe my blog as my own personal magazine available to the entire reading public,” says New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen. . .

Unlike traditional news outlets, however, many blogs have no editors, no publishers and, often, a staff of only one. . . But even if they lack the trappings of profit-driven media, bloggers like to use the word “journalist” to describe themselves, even if they work in other professions. “We’re pundits, we’re amateur journalists, we’re concerned citizens, we’re activists,” says attorney Hinderaker.

I guess this is another instance in which laws are struggling to keep up with changes in information technology and new forms of knowledge dissemination. The entertainment industry is still trying to figure out how to deal with issues such as multimedia file sharing, the puiblishing industry is worrying about trademark ownership, and now media companies have to grapple with this question about what constitutes a journalist.

Perhaps a better way to look at this is to consider that in this ever-changing social environment, maybe we don’t have to use the same conventional standards or categories anymore. In other words, maybe it’s time to recognize that bloggers are not traditional journalists but are a new “species” that combines journalism, social commentary, political advocacy, and technological prowness into a new, modern 21st century form of communication and information dissemination.

Do I personally myself to be a journalist in the traditional sense when I post stuff on this particular blog? Not really. But do I think I’m entitled to the same legal protections if I happen to have a newsworthy story in which I have tried as best as possible to check facts, etc.? I think so.