THE BLOGGING JOURNALIST

The Wall Street Journal’s Advice to Bloggers

The Wall Street Journal reported May 21, 2009, that “Bloggers are increasingly getting sued or threatened with legal action for everything from defamation to invasion of privacy to copyright infringement.” See “Bloggers, Beware: What You Write Can Get You Sued. Writes M.P. McQueen:

In 2007 -- the most recent data available -- 106 civil lawsuits against bloggers and others in social networks and online forums were tallied by the Citizen Media Law Project at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, up from just 12 in 2003.  There have been about $17.4 million in trial awards against bloggers to date, according to the Media Law Resource Center in New York, a nonprofit clearinghouse that tracks free-speech cases.

McQueen noted that, “Many lawsuits are thrown out of court or settled before trial, but not before causing headaches for the accused.”

I highly recommend McQueen’s article. It offers something for bloggers to reflect on.

Technorati Tags: Bloggers and Defamation,M.P. McQueen,The Wall Street Journal Online

Is Shellee Hale a Blogger, Journalist or Blogging Journalist?

Kelly Heyboer, who writes for Jersey Blogs at The Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey, takes a look at a lawsuit for defamation filed against blogger Shellee Hale, a “Washington state mother of five” who “has four blogs and a passion for exposing security breaches in the online pornography business.”

For details, see “Are bloggers journalists?: Too Much Media vs. Shellee Hale.” Also see “Blogger who claimed online pornography security breach by N.J. company faces slander suit.”

There is more at “Monmouth judge hears cyber-slander suit involving N.J. software company.”

Technorati Tags: Shelle Hale,Kelly Heyboyer,Jersey Blogs

Maryland Blogger Wins First Amendment Battle With a Former Mayor

Sharahn D. Boykins, a staff writer at Salisbury, Maryland, USA-based DelMarva Now.com,  reported April 28, 2009, that “a legal encounter hyped as a major First Amendment battle for the Internet Age quickly became a source of amusement for a state District Court judge [ Daniel R. Mumford] who advised a Delmar Web logger to "get a life" and told local politicians to thicken their skin to electronic criticism.” See “Court sides with blogger.”

The blogger, Joseph Albero, who blogs at Salisbury News, said of the verdict: “Today's victory [ over former Salisbury mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman] was not a win for Joe Albero. It was a win for every citizen who has been harassed, fired, bullied and humiliated. It was for ALL of the Bloggers who have been threatened by frivolous lawsuits and scare tactics in an attempt to take away our Freedom of Speech.”

See “Blogger Fights City Hall And Wins” for more of Albero’s comments on the ruling.

Technorati Tags: Salisbury News,Joseph Albero,Sharahn D. Boykins,DelMarva Now,Bloggers