So are bloggers “real” journalists? This is a question that has long plagued the blogging community. It looks like this question may inadvertently be answered by a court of law. If you’ve been following the saga of how blogger, Jason Chen, leaked Apple’s next-generation iPhone on Gizmodo, you know that the story has taken a new direction.
An Apple engineer lost the new iPhone in a bar – it was found and then sold to Gawker Media, Gizmodo’s parent company, for $5,000. Soon after, Jason Chen posted pictures and video of the new iPhone online. Section 1070 that has historically protected journalists’ property from being confiscated is being tested. After police seized the iPhone, Chen claimed that he should be protected from the same rights as a journalist.
What fascinates me about this case is that the results of a snafu by Apple may ultimately change the course of open media online. Steve Jobs, Apple’s founder, in his youth helped to launch the social media movement as a Phone Phreak. Phreaks sniffed out telephone company test lines and conference circuits in order to host virtual seminars and discussions. So I’m left to ponder if Jobs’ actions are hypocritical – I suspect that Steve would have done the same thing as a young man. To see the open nature of blogging and civic journalism limited by a social media pioneer would be a shame.
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