"First, they came for the bloggers..."

From yesterday's Seattle Slimes:

Regulators: Is blogging lobbying?
By CURT WOODWARD
The Associated Press

OLYMPIA — Blogger beware: State regulators are wondering whether online political activism amounts to lobbying, which could force Web-based activists to publicly detail their finances.

In a collision of 21st-century media and 1970s political reforms, the inquiry hints at a showdown over press freedoms for bloggers, whose self-published journals can shift among news reporting, opinion writing, political organizing and campaign fundraising.

State officials are downplaying any possible media-rights conflict, pointing out that regulators have already exempted journalistic blogging from previous guidelines for online campaign activity.

But the blogosphere is taking the notion seriously. One prominent liberal blogger in Seattle is already issuing a dare: If the government wants David Goldstein to file papers as a lobbyist, it will have to take him to court.

Goldstein, publisher of the widely read horsesass.org, wants to know how his political crusades could be subject to financial disclosures while newspaper writers, radio hosts and others in traditional media get a pass.

New journalism

For most bloggers, Goldstein said, the work "is a hobby, a sideline. And yet they contribute greatly to the public debate and to the new journalism."

...

The question of blogging soon entered the picture.

Much of the discussion about blogging as lobbying boils down to the evolving distinction of who is and is not a member of the media.

Laws often have defined media by describing the form in which the information is delivered — a newspaper, a magazine, or a licensed TV or radio station. But the Internet is eroding those distinctions, making such definitions sound hopelessly outdated.

"Our definitions of all of this are changing so dramatically, right in front of our eyes," said Sree Sreenivasan, of Columbia University's journalism school.

In this environment, Sreenivasan said, regulators facing a question about who qualifies as media might need to undertake a much more detailed examination of the content being produced.

"It's very hard to put them in a box: 'This is OK, this is not OK,' " Sreenivasan said. "It's a waste of everybody's time. I'd say, what is the work they're doing?"

The PDC's Ellis doesn't expect commissioners to impose financial reporting for bloggers who perform a journalistic function. Since that type of activity was excluded in campaign finance rules, he said, "I don't see any reason why they would veer from past practice."

And, oddly enough, from last September's Seattle Slimes:

Blogs about politics on radar of state elections officials
By Alex Fryer
Seattle Times staff reporter

The rapid growth of political blogs and Web sites has attracted the attention of state elections officials, who are considering what, if any, new regulations should be imposed on the Internet.

The go-slow approach by the state Public Disclosure Commission (PDC), which collects candidates' financial information and enforces elections laws, is applauded by most bloggers and campaign experts, though some say policing the Internet is unnecessary and all but impossible.

As early as this month, the PDC may consider new political communication regulations, with much of the discussion likely to focus on whether to extend federal rules governing the Internet to local races.

"Are we going to regulate what bloggers say? No," said Jane Noland, one of five commissioners. "We are not interested in regulating speech."

Last year, after a series of hearings, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) released new measures for presidential and congressional races that were heralded by advocates of limited government regulation.

The FEC said bloggers do not have to reveal payments directly from political campaigns, but the campaigns must disclose such payments as expenditures. Unpaid political activity on the Internet did not have to be reported as a free contribution to a campaign. Paid advertisements by candidates and parties on Web sites must be disclosed, just the same as with traditional media.

Federal action was spurred by the exponential increase in political Web traffic.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project found that for 15 percent of American adults, the Internet was the primary source for campaign news in the 2006 election. About 20 percent of those online users visited blogs, international news Web sites or candidates' Web sites.

While blogs are often partisan, there are few examples of financial connections between the bloggers and the candidates they support.

(More at the link.)

They can have my First Amendment Rights when they pry my keyboard from my cold, dead fingers.