4 ms·

Enough arbitrary regulation, and everyone becomes a criminal... The distinction between "news organization" and individual also makes very little sense to me.

Enough arbitrary regulation, and everyone becomes a criminal... The distinction between "news organization" and individual also makes very little sense to me. When someone contributes original work via twitter or a blog, why is this any less "news" than the writings of some large media company? Perhaps some (many?) blogs admit a significant reduction in "quality", but this seems a less than compelling argument. Just read the editorial section of an arbitrary newspaper...

miked 17y ago
The distinction between "news organization" and individual also makes very little sense to me. The lack of a significant distinction becomes even more obvious when you consider a group of people sharing a blog vs. a media organization.
- coglethorpe 17y ago
  Yes, where is the line? Is TechCrunch a "news organization?" It's got a staff and lots of traffic, but isn't it just a really successful blog? Is Joel on Software or 37 Signals a blog or a very elaborate ad? How about Seth Godin or Guy Kawasaki's which are really just ads for their own stuff. They get their own stuff for free. Do they have to disclose that?
ajscherer 17y ago
I don't think they are saying that a blog is not news, I think the issue is that (in their opinion) a consumer can reasonably expect that a newspaper or magazine will receive samples from the manufacturer to review, but a consumer would not expect this from a blog. From section 255.5 of the guidelines linked in the article: "When there exists a connection between the endorser and the seller of the advertised product that might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement (i.e., the connection is not reasonably expected by the audience), such connection must be fully disclosed." For example, if I read a positive review of a Mac notebook on nytimes.com, I am going to assume they get free products from Apple to review and I won't be surprised if the criticism is less than vicious, even if the product is awful. On the other hand if I read this pg essay: http://www.paulgraham.com/mac.html http://www.paulgraham.com/mac.html, I believe that is his actual opinion based on using a computer that he purchased and liked. If it were disclosed that he was receiving anything of value from Apple, I would read the essay differently.

miked 17y ago

The distinction between "news organization" and individual also makes very little sense to me. The lack of a significant distinction becomes even more obvious when you consider a group of people sharing a blog vs. a media organization.

coglethorpe 17y ago
Yes, where is the line? Is TechCrunch a "news organization?" It's got a staff and lots of traffic, but isn't it just a really successful blog? Is Joel on Software or 37 Signals a blog or a very elaborate ad? How about Seth Godin or Guy Kawasaki's which are really just ads for their own stuff. They get their own stuff for free. Do they have to disclose that?

ajscherer 17y ago

I don't think they are saying that a blog is not news, I think the issue is that (in their opinion) a consumer can reasonably expect that a newspaper or magazine will receive samples from the manufacturer to review, but a consumer would not expect this from a blog. From section 255.5 of the guidelines linked in the article: "When there exists a connection between the endorser and the seller of the advertised product that might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement (i.e., the connection is not reasonably expected by the audience), such connection must be fully disclosed." For example, if I read a positive review of a Mac notebook on nytimes.com, I am going to assume they get free products from Apple to review and I won't be surprised if the criticism is less than vicious, even if the product is awful. On the other hand if I read this pg essay: http://www.paulgraham.com/mac.html http://www.paulgraham.com/mac.html, I believe that is his actual opinion based on using a computer that he purchased and liked. If it were disclosed that he was receiving anything of value from Apple, I would read the essay differently.