First, much of this happens already without the MBA or any other organization being a credentialing entity. Bloggers attended and covered the national political conventions two years ago. Bloggers already get plenty of press releases and invitations to events from various campaigns and organizations, just like the traditional media. I know of at least one podcaster unaffiliated with any traditional media outlet who is considered part of the authorized media for a minor league hockey team in a large metropolitan area.
Blogcritics is one of several sites through which bloggers receive advance copies of books, CDs, and DVDs, and are invited to advance screenings. In fact, there are dozens of "litblogs" out there that the publishing industry recognizes and relies upon to provide coverage of books and publishing matters. Why create a credentialing system to provide opportunities that already exist?
Second, and perhaps more important, any effort to proclaim one segment of a group of similarly situated individuals as an "elite," entitled to advantages over the others, should raise red flags for all bloggers.
Designating an "elite tier" of bloggers seems particularly contrary to one of the best concepts underlying blogs - they allow almost anyone a low-cost means of participating in the marketplace of ideas by distributing ideas, analysis, and criticism worldwide. As such, blogs can help undercut the sad but often all too true observation of journalist A.J. Liebling: "Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one."
Don't get me wrong. Adhering to certain ethical standards behooves bloggers and their readers, but it isn't just what the Post calls "this experiment of free expression" that is guilty of ethical lapses. Likewise, just how good a job did the WaPo and the rest of the renowned traditional press do "verifying facts [and] seeking both sides of a story" in the run up to the Iraq War?
An "elite" stamp from any particular organization does not guarantee anything. It certainly should never become the determinant of the legitimacy or value of any individual or collective blog.
Article comments
1 - Marcia L. Neil
Say, is it just me or has Tabloid Column stopped taking comments on any days except the present? How can we relay tips?
2 - Marcia L. Neil
Give your tips through www.radoknews,com!
3 - Robert Cox
Tim - I posted this in the comments section on your blog and have asked Eric Olsen to foward you my email but to reiterate, your post/article is incorrect with regard to the aims of the MBA.
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You wrote “While MBA should probably be commended for its efforts, part of the WaPo story, if accurate, disturbs me. It says MBA’s president wants to help create “an elite tier of bloggers.’”
Your qualifier “if accurate” suggest you have considered the possibility that this line from the WaPo story may be incorrect. You would be right. Of course we are NOT trying to create “”an elite tier of bloggers”. This does even make sense when you consider that there is ALREADY an elite tier of bloggers and that “elite tier” had nothing to do with the Media Bloggers Association other than that some of those “elite tier” bloggers are members of the MBA.
You can read all about this on my blog (Words in Edgewise) or on the MBA home page (mediabloggers.org), but the short version is that the exact OPPOSITE is the case. We are trying to create opportunities that are open to ALL bloggers.
Think about it. Many of the “elite” bloggers today do not need an association to help them gain access to something like a high profile federal trial. Andrew Sullivan can gain access via Time magazine. Glenn Reynolds via MSNBC. Jeff Jarvis via The Guardian.
The people who need help with the type of access we created for the Libby Trial are the non-elites (if I can use that term). And, in fact, most of the bloggers participating in our “coverage” of the Libby Trial fit this description.
What has confused some people, including folks at the WaPo, is that our policy at the MBA is that bloggers join after meeting the basic requirements described on our web site (see the “Membership” link). We don’t call them this but you can think of them as “regular” members of the MBA.
There are some opportunities we have developed where the third-party involved (such as the federal courts) has some additional requirements. The members who are interested in any given opportunity are told of any additional requirements and can then choose whether or not to meet those requirements or not. Some bloggers elect to meet the additional standards and participate. Some don’t. The choice is entirely their own.
That is not CREATING AN ELITE-TIER. It is the opposite of that. Our policy is that ANY blogger who joins the MBA is eligible to meet the same standards as any other member, including those considered “elite-tier” bloggers, and gain access to any event or opportunity on an even footing.
In the case of the Libby Trial, every single MBA member that asked to participate either as a credentialed blogger or as contributor has been included. To accomodate demand, we simply capped the number of days that any blogger could request (4 days) so that there were enough slots to go around based on a reasonable assumption (that the trial will last 6 weeks).
As any blogger who meets our fairly simple membership requirements can join the MBA, and as any member can participate in any opportunity, this is as egalitarian as it can be and far, far better than leaving opprtunities solely to those with inside connections such as the so-called “elite-tier” or “A-list” bloggers.
If you have some ideas on we could make the process even more open and more fair we would certainly welcome them. Just know that we share your concerns and find the idea of creating elite-tiers of bloggers to be silly.
Robert Cox
President
Media Bloggers Association
4 - D'oh
An interesting bit to ponder, here.
On one hand, you have the public, bless their black, flabby little hearts, involved in citizen-journalism via blogs...on the other, you have credentialed media which gets better access than the public in some instances.
I just don't see any problem with news outlets or agencies like this MBA, credentialing bloggers so they can get a higher level of access equal to the press. How can this be a bad thing if done above board.
Take the case last year of Gannon/Guckert and Talon's access inside the WH press room?
He did NOT receive his press credentials in the traditional manner, because the House tossed him out and did NOT certify him, but the WH did.
With an outside agency(or more) doing the credentialing, you know where folks are from and who they represent, rather than allow interested parties to stack the deck with shills.
Everybody , stand up...question authority, find the facts...make up your own minds, talk about it... and bring the Noise!