Media Bloggers Association
The Media Bloggers Association (MBA) is a United States membership-based, non-partisan voluntary association describing its activity as "supporting the development of 'blogging' or 'citizen journalism' as a distinct form of media".[1]
In January 2007, an MBA member received press credentials identical to those of broadcast and print journalists at a federal court, to cover the trial of Lewis Libby, alongside bloggers from more established sites including Firedoglake, the Huffington Post, and Daily Kos.[2] The MBA described this as a significant step forward in its efforts on behalf of its members,[3] despite the fact that the major blogs covering the trial did not rely on the MBA for their credentials.[4]
In June 2008, MBA became involved in a copyright dispute involving Associated Press demand of strict terms for bloggers quoting from their news at the request of Rogers Cadenhead whose Drudge Retort was affected.[5]
Criticism
Many of the MBA's members are unknown bloggers, but some are prominent bloggers such as Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit,[6] Oliver Willis,[7] Liza Sabater of Culture Kitchen,[8] Jeff Jarvis of BuzzMachine. Still, some bloggers have claimed that the MBA has made sweeping claims to represent bloggers.[9][10][11] These critics have claimed that the MBA did not include any major bloggers as members nor represent a significant proportion of the blogging community. Michael Arrington of TechCrunch also claimed, without support, that a business relationship existed between the Associated Press and the MBA.[12]
BoingBoing, one of the blogs critical of the MBA, issued a corrective stating that it was the Associated Press and the New York Times which implied that the MBA was acting on behalf of all bloggers, and not the MBA itself.[13] MBA supporters,[14] Robert Cox himself[15] and others [16] have written at length in response to these criticisms.
References
- ↑ About Media Bloggers Association – MBA Mission
- ↑ Associated Press, "History: Bloggers get in trial", The Albuquerque Tribune, January 13, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2007
- ↑ Sipress, Alan, "Too Casual To Sit on Press Row? Bloggers' Credentials Boosted With Seats at the Libby Trial", The Washington Post, January 11, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2007 (registration required)
- ↑ "For Bloggers, Libby Trial Is Fun and Fodder (Correction)", New York Times February 16, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2008
- ↑ How the Media Bloggers Association Got Involved | Workbench
- ↑ The MBA logo can be seen on the Instapundit website
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/18/something-is-rotten-in-denmark-the-ap-nytimes-and-mba-love-triangle/all-comments/#comment-2379728[dead link]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ See notes 2 and 3 supra. See also Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
