Who's a Journalist?

As a newspaper journalist and a blogger, I'm fascinated by the decision made on Friday by a U.S. Appeals court (Apple vs. bloggers who allegedly disclosed the company's secrets) that online and offline journalists are equally protected under the First Amendment and there is “no workable test or principle that would distinguish 'legitimate' and 'illegitimate' news”. The decision opens a huge can of worms about who's a journalist at a time when everyone can be a “journalist” by simply starting a blog or Web site. At the mesh conference (which I helped organize), one of the challenges was determining who warranted media accreditation. At an extreme, one could argue anyone who has a blog could have been given accreditation if you believe they provide editorial insight and “news”. Of course, this policy would kill the conference business because most people attending would attend for free as “journalists”. So how do you define a journalist? Do they have to be employed by a news organization and, if so, how do you define a “news organization”. From a big picture perspective, what we're is seeing the democratization of journalism – taking the business from something done by a small elite to an activity in which everyone with a blog, podcast, cell phone, etc. is a journalist. Look at what community journalism sites such as NowPublic.com are doing by creating large armies of news gatherers around the world. NowPublic has plans to leverage this “asset” by selling the services of its community journalists to mainstream media organizations on a licensed/pay-as-you-go basis. The “who's a journalist/who's not” question is just one of the many challenges facing major media organizations as they grapple with how to survive/evolve in a world where an increasingly amount of information is delivered and consumed on the Web. It's bad enough they have to figure out ways to make money (advertising? subscriptions? value-added services?) online without having to worry about the “competition” for readers and advertisers is a guy/gal producing high-quality insight and perspective on their blog/podcast. At the mesh conference “Who's a Journalist?” was one of our panel topics but the question could easily be the subject of a full-day event.
For more insight, check out Dave Winer, The Blogging Journalist, Jeff Jarvis (who provides several excerpts from the court decision) and The Volokh Conspiracy.