Blogger: from a buzz word to the real thing

Blogging has been the buzz word in the media world since last year's presidential election, but bloggers have yet to be taken seriously. Has their (our?) time finally come? Bloggers are now getting more consideration in two very big realms - the realm of the government, and the realm of professionals.

Congress is currently in the process of passing legislation which could provide more protection for journalists and their sources. Judith Miller, the New York Times journalist who spent 85 days in jail for refusing to reveal a source, spoke at a recent congressional hearing concerning the shield law legislation, stating "I'm here because I hope you will agree that an uncoerced, uncoercable press, though at times irritating, is vital to the perpetuation of the freedom and democracy we so often take for granted." According to an article from CNET News.com, proponents of the bill are busy deciding whether or not bloggers will be included in this protective bill. The article seems doubtful that bloggers will get much out of this bill, but it is interesting to see the increased prevalence of bloggers; bloggers are being taken seriously, or at least more seriously than, say, two years ago. A separate posting on CNET News.com stated that the Delaware Supreme Court ruled in favor of a blogger, protecting a blogger's identity in a libel case.

Moreover, bloggers and businesses alike are speculating how bloggers might be able to go about making money. In other words, how can bloggers become paid professionals? The Online Journalism Review suggests a few ways to start making a little money, the biggest of which was to put ads on blogsites which link to Google, Amazon, etc...each time a reader clicks on the link, the associated online conglomerate will pay the site owner.

This brings up the most heated argument in the media blogosphere: Does getting paid for blogging make you a professional journalist? I'll guess we'll have to wait and see.