Media Bloggers Association Explained

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] and 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.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.mediabloggers.org/about About Media Bloggers Association
  2. [Associated Press]
  3. 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)
  4. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/15/washington/15bloggers.html?hp& "For Bloggers, Libby Trial Is Fun and Fodder (Correction)"
  5. Web site: How the Media Bloggers Association Got Involved. workbench.cadenhead.org.
  6. The MBA logo can be seen on the Instapundit website
  7. Web site: Oliver Willis' blog . Media Bloggers Association And The AP Story . June 18, 2008 . November 5, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081118115551/http://www.oliverwillis.com/2008/06/18/media-bloggers-association-and-the-ap-story/ . November 18, 2008 . dead .
  8. https://techcrunch.com/2008/06/18/something-is-rotten-in-denmark-the-ap-nytimes-and-mba-love-triangle/all-comments/#comment-2379728
  9. Web site: Who are the "Media Bloggers Association" and what gives them to right to negotiate copyright with the Associated Press? . 2008-06-19 . Doctorow . Cory . Cory Doctorow . BoingBoing.
  10. Web site: AP to negotiate with sham "Media Bloggers Association" . Nielsen Hayden . Teresa . Teresa Nielsen Hayden.
  11. Web site: Media bloggers association . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080619064600/http://gawker.com/tag/media-bloggers-association/ . 2008-06-19 .
  12. Web site: . Something Is Rotten In Denmark: The A.P., NYTimes and MBA Love Triangle . 2008-06-19 . Arrington . Michael . 19 June 2008 . Michael Arrington.
  13. Web site: Media Bloggers Association -- who they are (and they aren't "representing blogs" to the Associated Press) . Doctorow . Cory . BoingBoing.
  14. See notes 2 and 3 supra. See also Web site: Culture Kitchen . EXCLUSIVE : Robert Cox answers some questions about his coming meeting with AP . 2008-11-05.
  15. Web site: Back Story on AP - Drudge Retort Issue . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081227223400/http://www.mediabloggers.org/robert-cox/backstory-on-ap-drudge-retort-issue . 2008-12-27 .
  16. Web site: Making Light blog . AP to negotiate with sham "Media Bloggers Association" . 2008-11-05 . June 18, 2008 . Teresa.

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