More on Blogging Ethics

Contrary to a lot of bloviating from journalists, I don't think there are any ethics that apply specifically to bloggers. Blogs are like any other product. If you get a rep for selling out, lying, etc. people won't deal with you. Some bloggers get around that by telling their readers what they want to hear, knowing that few if any will check or get suspicious, but who expects them to care about ethics?

This whole topic reminds me of universities holding symposia on blogging, trying to pigeonhole it, pass judgment on it, or somehow make it a subject of academia. There is just something unbloggy about the idea of blogging ethics. You might as well invite local gang leaders to discuss their ethics. Blogging is what it is. Right now it's a laissez faire system. There are no ethics or rules or laws, except maybe libel and slander which haven't really caught up. How do you really slander/libel a blogger, and if you did, how do you calculate damages?

It's also too early to define it or see how it will ultimately fit into our media. I'm sure some bloggers will develop a business model that pays more than begging, but when they do, they're in danger of becoming institutional like CBS. Let's wait and see what develops. I can't imagine that much law will develop until there's real money on the table. When Bloggers have deep pockets, we'll worry about ethics.