The power of blogging

The BBC News reports on the role of blogging in today's world, citing instances across the globe in support for and against blogging. In countries such as China and Iran, where authoritarian governments dictate what bloggers can and cannot write, the issue, according to Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), is a matter of rights. Julien Pain of RSF says, "Blogging is a very, very important tool in terms of freedom of expression ... It is a kind of revolution now." Blogging also continues to make waves in the U.K. and United States, especially between liberals and the conservatives. "There is a political agenda: right-wing bloggers saying that all media are liberal, that they have to attack The New York Times and Washington Post, even if there are differences between the two newspapers," says Bertrand Pecquerie of the World Editors Forum. Then comes the big issue of mainstream media, or MSM, vs. the bloggers. Many point to the 'outing' of notable journalists, such as Dan Rather, as the fault of bloggers--both a good and a bad thing. But the one area that both bloggers and journalists alike still have to watch for: the law.