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NJ judge says blogs not legitimate news outlets
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A judge in Monmouth County has ruled in the trial of a New Jersey blogger, saying that the blogger is not entitled to protection under New Jersey's journalist shield law. Judge Louis Locascio ruled that blogger Shellee Hale could be sued for slander for allegedly defamatory posts she made on an Internet message board about a Freehold-based software company. Hale had sought protection from the lawsuit under the shield law, which exempts journalists from being forced to reveal the sources for information they publish.
Locascio said that there is a distinction between journalists associated with mainstream media organizations and "person[s] communicating to another person." "To extend the newsperson's privilege to such posters would mean anyone with an email address, with no connection to any legitimate news publication, would post anything on the Internet and hide behind the shield law's protections," the judge wrote.
The decision has potential ramifications for political contests in New Jersey, as blogs have become in recent years a major source of news and information for the voting public. Candidates for office may now be able to harass bloggers and other Internet-based independent journalists with threats of lawsuits and worse, potentially preventing publication of material embarrassing to the candidate or damaging to the campaign. Media outlets regularly publish such material. However, blogs have increased in popularity as the public has lost faith in the impartiality of the press. This decision could therefore actually result in less information getting into the hands of voters, not more.
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