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Chris Wysocki
Caldwell, NJ
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Saturday, 13 April 2013
NJ court rules that bloggers are journalists too; Paul Mulshine hardest hit
"Blog" is not a Four Letter Word, and citizen journalists are every bit as worthy of First Amendment protection as professional reporters. It's nice to see a court recognize that!
In a decision that could impact bloggers across New Jersey, a Superior Court judge ruled today that a self-declared citizen watchdog who writes stinging critiques of Union County government has the same legal protections as a professional journalist.
While questioning the quality and tone of the writing in Tina Renna's blog posts, Judge Karen Cassidy concluded Renna "obtained material in the course of professional newsgathering activities" with the aim of disseminating it over the internet.
As such, Cassidy wrote in her opinion, Renna should be covered by the state's shield law. Under that law, one of the most powerful of its kind in the country, journalists generally cannot be forced to reveal their sources or other sensitive information to law enforcement or grand juries.
The judge's ruling quashed a subpoena served on Renna by the Union County Prosecutor's Office, which wanted the names of 16 county employees Renna claimed had improperly used county-owned portable generators after Hurricane Sandy. Renna made the allegations in a December blog post but did not name the employees.
This ruling must be devasting to Star-Ledger columnist Paul Mulshine. His contempt for bloggers knows no bounds, because we haven't paid our dues in the ink-stained trenches or something. He really hates bloggers cum "pundits" like Glenn Reynolds, sneeringly referring to them as "pundints". And the few times I've tried to engage him in a dialog he's dismissed me out-of-hand as a "whackjob."
Well, it's time to go cry in your
fancy-pants microbrew beer Paul. It'll help you wash down that helping of
crow you'd better be eating. Bloggers are journalists too!
Posted at 15:36 by Chris Wysocki
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