MBALibbyTrial

Chris Justice wrote in PopMatters The Golden Rule #1

CNET's Declan McCullagh raises this important question: Are Web loggers (or bloggers) journalists?” If so, how should governmental organizations treat them? Do they also warrant press passes?

Noel K. Gallagher wrote in Portland Press Herald Bloggers get chance to cover Libby trial, and they like it

Among the 100 credentialed reporters covering the trial were a handful of bloggers, including Dutson and Robert Cox, president of the 1,000-member Media Bloggers Association. "We accomplished what we were trying ultimately to do: cover the trial and distribute the material.

James McGrath Morris wrote in Legal Times Bloggers' Big News Needs Scaling Down

It took the Media Bloggers Association two years of negotiations with court officials to win the right to join the media frenzy. Kim Pearson, a professor at the College of New Jersey, was among the vanguard who took a turn in the press pool. According to Pearson, Judge Reggie Walton's decision to allow bloggers to participate in the trial opened "a new chapter in the debate over the legitimacy of bloggers as gatherers and disseminators of news."

Declan McCullagh wrote in The Editors Weblog Bloggers as Journalists: what are the rules?

Eventually, with some prodding from the Media Bloggers Association, the court in the Libby case agreed to grant bloggers guaranteed seats. Two have been reserved for them.

An article by Scott Shane, from the New York Times appeared in News & Observer (Raleigh, Durham) Bloggers cover Libby trial

For blogs, the Libby trial marks a courthouse coming of age. It is the first federal case for which independent bloggers have been given official credentials, said Robert A. Cox, president of the Media Bloggers Association. Cox negotiated access for the bloggers.

Scott Shane wrote in New York Times For Bloggers, Libby Trial Is Fun and Fodder

For blogs, the Libby trial marks a courthouse coming of age. It is the first federal case for which independent bloggers have been given official credentials along with reporters from the traditional news media, said Robert A. Cox, president of the Media Bloggers Association. “My goal is to get judges to think of bloggers as citizen journalists who should get the same protections as other journalists get,” Mr. Cox said.

[ed. Cox requested and received a correction to the original version of this story:

Mark Glaser wrote in MediaShift AP Warms Up to Blogs, Citizen Media at NowPublic

And now the AP has made an alliance with the Media Bloggers Assocation (MBA) for blog coverage of the Scooter Libby trial, and a wider deal with citizen media site, NowPublic.

Appearing in an online chat at the Washington Post to discuss The Libby Trial's Implications for the Media, Lucy Dalglish, the Executive Director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press wrote:

I happen to know that the access to the trial by media bloggers was negotiated during a two-year period by Robert Cox of the Media Bloggers Association. I think Cox just thought of it before anyone else, and he passionately worked to get his members accredited.

If this blogging experience works well, my guess is that we'll see more traditional media doing it in future trials. I think it has been very interesting to read the blogs.

 [ed. Cox has met with and spoken to federal judges and other staff in the judiciary over the past two years where he made a case for the credentialing bloggers by the courts but did not specifically discuss the Libby trial with the courts until Fall 2006]

Thomas Pierce wrote in NPR Bloggers Join Frenzy at Media-Saturated Libby Trial

After two years of wrangling with judicial officials across the country, the association finally won the chance to prove what blogs and bloggers can contribute beyond traditional journalism. And this case, in particular, is an interest

Michael J. Sniffen for the Associated Press wrote a story that first appeared in the Arizona Daily Star In Libby trial, former Cheney aide pulls back curtain

On StarNet: A group called the Media Bloggers Association has been given court permission to blog live from the trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Find a page of posts at azstarnet.com/libbyblogs