Controversy

Chez Pazienza was fired Tuesday from his postiion as senior producer of CNN's "American Morning" for "violat[ing] its standards for journalists through his blog Deus Ex Malcontent."

He says he was just blogging to pass the time while recovering from brain surgery and that he never wrote about work-related issues - although he was very candid about his opinions on just about everything else, "I wake up every morning baffled as to why America hasn’t thrown George Bush and Dick Cheney in prison, Hollywood hasn’t stopped trying to convince me that Sarah Jessica Parker is attractive, gullible soccer moms haven’t realized that they share absolutely no kinship with Oprah, and Fox canceled ‘Firefly..."

They say "CNN has a policy that says employees must first get permission to write for a non-CNN outlet."

Source link: New York Times.

According to a recent study by Proofpoint, an email security and date protection company, 10 percent of companies surveyed have fired an employee for violating company policy regarding blogging and/or posting to forums while on the clock.

Although Ryan Singel at Wired's Threat Level blog speculates that the survey results may be a bit inflated or exaggerated based on the position Proofpoint has as a company in the business of selling email monitoring programs. Christopher Null at the Yahoo! tech blog The Working Guy considers the stats to be a bit more realistic, pointing out: "It's important to note that those statistics refer to the number of companies that have taken any action, not the number of workers who've been affected."

The survey included 308 companies, 28 of which have apparently fired bloggers for going against company policy.

Interested in the study in it's entirety? You can download the full report entitled "Outbound Email and Content Security in Today's Enterprise, 2007" here.

In an attempt to answer the question 'Is business blogging worth it?' a recent press release issues a call for case studies on the trend of business blogging and it's overall ROI (return on investment).

The request for business blogging stories was sent out over media wires by The Blog Squad, a duo of 'blogging experts' who host an internet radio show on negotiating the wiles of the blogosohere.

Case studies are being accepted via the Squad's blog and business bloggers with a story to tell are asked to respond to two basic questions:

1. How has blogging benefited your business?

2. What have you learned or how has your business been affected by blogging?

Business bloggers who contribute their stories may be featured on the Squad's site or asked for permission to have their stories published in a possible book on the subject of whether or not business blogging is ultimately worth the effort.

UPDATE 6/21/07:

In response to the backlash that was spawned by the details mentioned above, the NCAA has released the following statement:

"Coverage of a recent incident involving a reporter having his media credential revoked at an NCAA championship requires clarification on both why this action was taken as well as current NCAA policy. The reporter's credential was revoked because he continued to blog live play-by-play reports from the press box after being repeatedly asked to stop. Any transmission of live play-by-play information by any entity other than a media rights holder is prohibited.

Following this incident, the NCAA issued incorrect information to credentialed media which stated that in-game updates of any type are prohibited. In fact, in-game updates to include score and time remaining in competition are permissible by any media entity whether credentialed or not.

We apologize for any confusion that may have resulted from the incorrect information."

"Chat rooms monitored. Blogs deleted. Websites blocked. Search engines restricted. People imprisoned for simply posting and sharing information..."

From an article on the BBC website comes a report that Amnesty International, the human rights group, is calling upon webloggers to stand up for the right to free speech everywhere by using the very tool that allows them to publish their thoughts to the net: their blogs.

"'Freedom of expression online is a right, not a privilege - but it's a right that needs defending,' said Steve Ballinger of Amnesty International. 'We're asking bloggers worldwide to show their solidarity with web users in countries where they can face jail just for criticising the government.'

The human rights group is also taking its campaign to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) - a group set up by the UN to act as a debating body for national net policies. The first big meeting of the IGF takes place in Athens from 30 October to 2 November."

Being addressed in particular are the rights of bloggers already being held captive for publishing their opinions to their blogs including: Iranian Kianoosh Sanjari who was jailed earlier this month and is still being held for attempting to report on clashes between security forces and supporters of Shi'a cleric Ayatollah Boroujerdi; and Vietnamese cyber-dissidents being held for blogging opinions contrary to the doctine of their government.

To learn more about how you can get involved, visit the Amnesty International website "Amnesty Irrepressible."

From CNET news:

"Video blogger and freelance journalist Josh Wolf was on Wednesday given two more days to either turn himself back in to prison or cooperate with a federal grand jury seeking unpublished footage he shot during a protest that turned violent...

The newest addition to ways bloggers can make money comes from a website with the same name.

PayPerPost explains that bloggers can make money by selecting advertising topics from a list - topics include assignments - assigments include detailed instructions for bloggers who will then post in their blog a shiny rendition of what would otherwise appear to be spontaneous advertising.
30 days later a blogger gets paid for their post.

There are clearly a number of problems with this system - not the least of which is: bloggers are generally regarded as trustworthy and valuable for their individuality, their expression of personal opinions - and often readerships will rely on one blogger's ideas or recommendations after the blogger has developed and maintained a reputation.
What happens to credibility in the blogosphere when reputation is marketed?

Naturally, advertising has always selected 'stars' in any field or industry to promote products - but is there an inherent difference in the blogosphere?
Does Pay Per Post (as a now active concept) cross the boundaries or just blur them a little?

The site recommends to bloggers that they pass on the deal if they 'don't own the product' or if the 'Opportunity doesn't feel right' but what's to stop them from saying so one way or the other in order to get paid?

What do you think?
Is anyone a part of the program - what are your thoughts?

Well, well, well.....seems India's government has joined the ranks of those blocking or banning blogs via ISP's.

In an article from BoingBoing:
"...the Indian government has decided to censor blogs and refused to explain why. This morning Shivam Vij managed to talk to Dr Gulshan Rai, director of CERT-IN, the only body authorised to issue directives to ISPs. His response: 'Somebody must have asked for some sites to be blocked. What is your problem?'"

Bloggers interested in joining the growing collective to stop this ban from growing (as not only blogspot blogs, but Geocities blogs are now filtered - what's next?) are encouraged to click here.

Anyone being affected by the blog ban, which started Friday, and for no apparent reason feel free to comment.

Copyfight blogged recently about the increasing use of a farily new term in the blogosphere, along with a news story illustrating (maybe?) just what 'blogswarming' is, why it's important, and how it's changing the weight and credence afforded blogs as news-source.

The post itself is an interesting read - discussing how one Kentucky Republican politician was trying to "block access to to a blog critical of the establishment."
But the truly great thing is (in a shining example of just why blogs are making their mark in both media and culture), a few bloggers weighing in on the topic in the 'comments' section of the post disagree about what the term means and hash it out....
Leaving the definition to evolve naturally, or until someone takes a step forward to point out that they were the first blogger to use the term, etc. etc. - as is the natural order of things in the blogosphere.

Check out "Is 'Blogswarming' a New Journalism?" over at Copyfight, and don't miss the comments.

And if you've an opinion on the meaning of the new term, or just who coined it first, let us know!