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Adventures in the First Amendment

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Illinois

* I haven’t read the opinion yet, but this is a serious outrage…

A Cook County judge ruled today that a California technology blogger doesn’t qualify as a reporter and ordered him to turn over information on the tipster who leaked information about a Motorola cell phone.

Gadget blog TechnoBuffalo, a 3-year-old site which says it has one million readers a month, published images in August taken from the user’s guide for the Droid Bionic — a few weeks before the phone went on sale.

The blog’s president, Jonathan Rettinger, has so far declined to turn over any information on the tipster, arguing that it was publishing news and so is protected under journalist shield laws in Illinois and California.

A spokesman for the blog, which has a staff of writers and editors, said the case is the first time in Illinois a judge has been asked to rule whether a blogger is the same as a journalist in the law’s eyes.

Judge Michael Panter, while acknowledging that it was “a fast-evolving issue facing courts everywhere,” ruled that TechnoBuffalo isn’t a news medium and its bloggers aren’t protected under Illinois shield laws for journalists.

Elizabeth Bradshaw, an attorney for the blog, said she plans to appeal and the decision potentially “poses a threat to all news media, including bloggers.” Rettinger issued a statement saying he was “extremely disappointed.”

* From state law…

No court may compel any person to disclose the source of any information obtained by a reporter except as provided in [the other provisions of the shield law].

Sec. 8‑902. Definitions.

(a) “Reporter” means any person regularly engaged in the business of collecting, writing or editing news for publication through a news medium on a full‑time or part‑time basis and includes any person who was a reporter at the time the information sought was procured or obtained.

(b) “News medium” means any newspaper or other periodical issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic format and having a general circulation; a news service whether in print or electronic format; a radio station; a television station; a television network; a community antenna television service; and any person or corporation engaged in the making of news reels or other motion picture news for public showing.

(c) “Source” means the person or means from or through which the news or information was obtained.

That judge is completely off his rocker.

* Meanwhile, candidates should always make sure to snatch up a domain that matches their name. If they don’t, then bad things can happen. For instance, typing in RosemaryMulligan.com leads to this website, which is not exactly supportive…

Oops.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jan 13, 12 @ 4:04 pm

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