If it were up to our friends in Canada, bloggers would have to put up a $10,000 bond in order to cover sporting events in the press box with the mainstream media.
Bruce Dowbiggin of The Globe and Mail outlines his grand scheme to keep bloggers in check:
Usual Suspects feels that if a blogger wants a place in a press box or dressing room environment there should be something more tangible at stake – say, a bond of $10,000 that a blogger would lose should a court or arbitrator find he or she broke professional standards or libel laws. Such a policy would sort out the valuable from the voluble in short order.
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Dowbiggin’s column stems from the Vancouver Canucks hosting a six-team prospects tournament and issuing credentials to bloggers. The Canucks will hold bloggers to the same standards as the mainstream media when it comes to libel, slander, etc.
We all know there are bloggers out there that are sketchy at best when it comes to journalistic integrity. But you shouldn’t penalize an entire group of bloggers based on a few bad apples.
Plus, how many self-employed bloggers do you know that have the cash to purchase a $10,000 bond?
I guess that recession thing only applies here in the United States.