Who is a journalist?

“The liberty of the press is most generally approved when it takes liberties with the other fellow, and leaves us alone.” — Edgar Watson Howe, 1911.

By Rob Carrigan, robcarrigan1@gmail.com


This article first appeared in the May 2007 edition of Newspapers & Technology. Having spent nearly 40 years in the 'legitimate press,' I currently blog at https://coloradopresslessnative.blogspot.com and http://coloradorestlessnative.blogspot.com.

We are all "the Press," and always have been

 Who qualifies as “press”? The proliferation of blogs and other new technology is forcing journalists and professional associations to hammer out new ways of defining who’s eligible for press credentials.

Consider what’s happened in Washington, D.C., where the Capitol Correspondent’s Association recently rewrote its rules governing who can sit in congressional press galleries.
The rules are strict, requiring applicants to prove that they are a full-time, paid correspondent who requires “on-site access to congressional members and staff.”
In addition, applicants must be employed by a periodical that can qualify under General Publication mailing privileges under U.S. Postal Service rules and publishes daily, or employed by an organization that disseminates original news and opinion and has been publishing continuously for at least 18 months.

Leaves us out, but …
That sort of leaves out us poor, pitiful weekly newspaper folk, but, hey, who wants to listen to Congress all day anyway.
The organization goes on to exclude anybody who does not live in the Washington area and firmly disallows any lobbying, paid advocacy, advertising, publicity or promotion work.
Yet the advent of blogging and digital punditry has transformed the business. Anybody with a computer and access to a Web site can call himself a member of the press. But merely evoking the term, much like wishing for a winning lottery ticket, doesn’t necessarily make it so.
I write about this because of my role on the board of the Colorado Press Association, which has been asked to consider issuing stricter guidelines about who can obtain press credentials.

Main concern
The main fear many have, I believe, is that by somehow posing as “legitimate press,” bloggers could further damage our already shaky reputations. But maybe some of the MSM’s reluctance is that it wants to remain exclusive and thus not admit any new members. After all, what we do is so important it forced the nation’s forefathers to make the first make-good to nothing less than the U.S. Constitution.
Bloggers, of course, have an association of their own (at least one) and they continue to flex their collective muscles as well.
Most recently, the Media Bloggers Association, a 1,000-member organization working to extend powers of the press to bloggers, was able to secure access for two blogger seats in the 100 seats reserved for media in the “Scooter” Libby trial.
Blogging status
Additionally, another blogger, Garrett M. Graff, became the first blogger to be granted a daily White House pass for the specific purpose of writing a Web log in early 2005, according to The New York Times.
In Graff’s case, his quest for White House press credentials was actually helped by members of the White House Correspondents Association.
In ensuring the invitation to Graff, the WHCA wanted to make sure it alone was responsible for redrafting the rules defining a legitimate journalist, according to The Times.
I think that point is well taken. It is up to journalists to define for themselves what is proper and correct in the context of associations and organizations offering professional credentials. But it is probably up to the public to determine whether those credentials mean anything in the future.

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