An Undefinable Profession

Things are not always simple, not always black and white.

Media today has evolved from the naturalized and normalized way we think about journalists and news in general. This change is largely thanks to the internet. Now virtually anyone can contribute content and news stories, and then spread them to a global audience. However, many bloggers are facing opposition when seeking the same rights and access as other professional, mainstream media outlet journalists.


Mark Brunster of Laske Oswego is a blogger who understands this opposition greatly because he is currently facing it.

According to Oregonian: "As the author of political blog Loaded Orygun, Bunster insisted at a Lake Oswego City Council meeting that he was a member of the news media and therefore, under Oregon statute, allowed to sit in on executive session meetings. Lacking a clear policy on the issue, Lake Oswego city councilors asked Bunster to leave...Lake Oswego is considering adopting a policy that would define who qualifies as a member of the news media." 

Bloggers represent a myriad of local voices. They also do reporting and can sometimes get access into events that mainstream press cannot. Just because all bloggers may not be professional journalists, it doesn't mean they are not committing acts of journalism. Who are we to censor voices trying to get news out-- which by implementing this policy they would be legalizing the discrimination against bloggers and other smaller media outlets in their event coverage thereby censoring their content?

Look at one of the most influential political blogs today: Talking Points Memo. It started as a one man band, and was built to the huge success and large staff it has today. Would TPM have been able to succeed if a similar policy was in affect on a national level? Probably not.

People in support of Lake Oswego's policy have concerns about defining open and closed meeting sessions, City Attorney David Powell included.

According to the Oregonian, '"Does it mean that any individual can come into closed session?" asked Powell, who penned the policy based on one Columbia County uses. "It's not a closed session anymore. It's not saying individuals can't report on the news or City Council, but is that the individual the Legislature meant?"'

The Legislature defined the "individual" during a time when the Internet was not even a twinkle in technology's eye. I believe we should take a loose interpretation because of this change in times.

I am not sure if I would call bloggers or citizen journalists actual, professional journalists,  however if someone is willing to commit an act of journalism than government (big or small) has no ground to stop them. We need to stop trying to define everything and come to accept that with the emergence of the internet also came some confusing shades of gray.