Bloggers, unsurprisingly, consider themselves journalists because of their ability to research disseminate information to the public. However, others like Los Angeles Times editor David Shaw claim that because bloggers do not have experience or standards of conduct, they cannot be considered journalists in the formal sense of the word.

Historically, anonymous writers and pamphleteers were early citizen journalists that served the same function as today’s bloggers. A famous example of these pamphleteers is Thomas Paine, a figure instrumental in forming the ideas leading to the American Revolution. Paine, born in England, traveled to America nearly penniless and wrote Common Sense, a pamphlet that shared the radical views on the nature of governance. Chris Daly, a journalism professor at Boston University, argues that:

In historical terms, today’s bloggers are much closer in spirit to the Revolutionary-era pamphleteers than today’s giant, conglomerate mainstream media. On those grounds, blogs deserve the full constitutional blessings that the First Amendment guarantees.

Joshua Micah Marshall, owner of the news blog TalkingPointsMemo.com, asserts that bloggers are no different from journalists. Marshall’s blog’s coverage of the firing of several U.S. attorneys has not only created interest in traditional news media about the subject and led to the resignation of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, but also won him a George Polk award for legal coverage, the first all-electronic news journalist to do so. With a newsroom in Manhattan and seven reporters for his sites, Marshall represents professional news bloggers that function no differently from traditional journalists.

Yet others disagree with Daly and Marshall. Some bloggers are not sure if their websites qualify as journalism because of potential inaccuracies or biases. For example, Lockhard Steele of Curbed.com, a real estate blog in New York, claims that he does not consider himself a journalist because he does not have the time to check facts that he entered into his blog. He argues that if bloggers were to have the same privileges as journalists, then they would be subject to the same regulations as journalists also. This means that while they could have the ability to protect sources, they would also be accountable for reporting facts to avoid libel charges.

Bloggers certainly can be journalists. But it is apparent that not all bloggers are journalists and not all blogs can be considered journalism. Therefore, it is important to explore the categorization of bloggers and provide the privileges of journalism legislations to only those for whom it is necessary.