First Amendment protects bloggers, too

Recently a federal judge ruled that bloggers are not entitled to the same First Amendment protections as journalists--although there is no legal definition of what a journalist is.

Luckily, the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity is standing up for bloggers such as myself who do original reporting.

From an op-ed in the Washington Examiner by Jason Stverak, the president of the Franklin Center:

The non-profit group I lead, the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, has launched an effort to organize the voices of news consumers and the journalism profession in a campaign called Protect Your Voice.

This project features an online petition that states:

"By signing the petition, you agree that citizen-Journalists and Bloggers should not be penalized for providing a valuable service to our country. Citizen-journalists and bloggers in every state deserve to be included in the state's shield laws and granted Freedom of the Press rights. By signing the petition below, you are helping bloggers get one step closer to the equal protection of journalists when reporting."

The Franklin Center contends that the drastic decline in statehouse reporters is a "threat to democracy." The news organization praises bloggers for filling this void and "informing their citizenry of its elected officials' actions." The organization goes on to advocate for citizen-journalists demanding "the same protections as reporters in the court room."

The petition is here.

Related post:

Sign the petition: Bloggers are journalists

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