In the beginning of blogging on the internet there were few rules that dictated what could be said. This was because nothing had ever existed before that compared to the power and immediate visibility of blogging as a form of journalism. The bloggers for the most part remained faceless and at times through the use of a pseudonym, could not be easily identified. As things have progressed in the use and misuse of the internet, laws have been developed to both protect bloggers and regulate the content that they publish.
At first no one really knew how to classify a blog. Was it akin to a newspaper story or was it more like an editorial? This is an important classification because the journalistic practices that govern editorial commentary are very different than those that regulate traditional news reporting. Even today there is a lot of gray area when it comes to how blogs are classified. The main reason for the confusion is simply because this is unchartered territory. There is no precedent to really base anything off of so basically as blogs evolve the laws that govern their liability based on content will also evolve.
Many blogs are portrayed as official news sources. If this is the case the information posted should be screened for potential libel or inflammatory content. Some states classify bloggers as official reporters and as such they are protected by shield laws. If you want to be protected by shield laws you must find out how your state’s laws protect bloggers. Secondly, you have to adhere to the same guidelines that traditional reporters and editorialists follow:
On the other hand some blogs are more trivial in nature, focusing on gossip or hearsay. The question is what rules should govern blogs that fall into this category. Are they any different than gossip magazines? The basic rule of thumb is knowingly misstating information can result in a charge of slander, which could ultimately cost the blogger dearly. While at first it almost seemed like the Wild West out there in the blogosphere, new laws are constantly being developed to control just what can be said on a blog.
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