Are you in the union?

I’ve got to say that I find this rather ridiculous. A group of journalists have lobbied their union to bring action against a small group of prominent bloggers. It is suspected that this will be a test case that could silence thousands of bloggers in the future.

They believe that many bloggers are “operating as journalists” in the way that they comment on news issues. It seems that they think many of these bloggers should pay the yearly union fees that journalists pay to be able to continue to do what they do. This would also effectively force the bloggers to follow the journalistic code which would radically change the way they write.

Could this be the end of free speech?

Please read the full details here.

Posted by Rodney Olsen



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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He has worked in radio at Perth's media ministry Sonshine for over 25 years and has previously worked at ministries such as Compassion Australia and Bible Society.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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6 Comments

  • This is just ridiculous, Rodney. Giving our opinions on news is free speech. A degree in journalism and working for a publication – online or off – is not a requirement for applying common sense, logic, and opinion to a story and putting it in a public forum. We’re not doctors here prescribing medication to the masses. I think what we have here is a case of journalists who are ticked-off because their opinions are being challenged and people are are actually listening to someone besides them. This should be interesting.

  • well, this tears it. i think its high time we started a blogging union. yep, everyone can pay me $50 a year, and i will…um….hmm….what do union reps do? Oh, thats right, intimidate all non-union bloggers till they either quit or join us! 😉

  • i’d love to pay the union fee, immediately after i cash my cheque for the journalist’s salary i should be collecting from somewhere… 🙂

    this is a good april fool line to run, but it probably isn’t so funny when you read some of the issues being debated in the US at the moment regarding the legalities of blogging, etc.

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