I committed an act of journalism, am I liable?

Is there a test I can take somewhere to get a “license” to be a “real” reporter? Is there a regulatory board that examines the credentials of a reporter and then determines whether or not said reporter has a right to legal protection as member of the press? What I am really asking is why the ivory towers get the right to abuse freedom of the press when my lowly blog may not be so protected. Millions are blogging now, and not surprisingly companies (and governments) who are just now coming up with guidelines for email are running scared from this groundswell of independent thought. Employees are being fired and military personnel disciplined, even though no stated rules were broken.

To top it all off, there is growing support for the idea that the internet should be internationally (read that United Nations) regulated. Just great! Give control of domain assignment to countries with a long record of supression of free speech, like Iran and China. While we’re at it, make it criminal to start a blog without first registering, waiting for government approval, and then signing an iron-clad agreement not talk about anything “less than socially redeeming.” The dream of every Orwellian son-of-a-bitch tyrant come true. But I don’t for a moment see it happening. America still controls the internet, don't we ;) Comments?

Check out Blogging Guide for Social Activists