:: NEWS COCKTAIL aka BlahBlahBlog ::

:: 6.05.2003 ::

:: Blogging in the news ::

From Wired:
Gag Rules? Bloggers Report Anyway

The Wall Street Journal is thinking of changing the reporting rules for its high-profile technology conference after a couple of webloggers inadvertently broke a gag order.

The Journals inaugural D: All Things Digital conference, held near San Diego last week, attracted an impressive roster of big names from the technology industry.

Attendees included Microsoft's Bill Gates, Apple's Steve Jobs, eBay's Meg Whitman, USA Network's Barry Diller, and Larry Page and Sergey Brin from Google, among others.

The bigwigs agreed to talk partly because journalists covering the event were subject to reporting ground rules. Anything said onstage was deemed "off the record," and wouldn't be reported without the express consent of the speaker.

But a couple of members of the audience, who weren't privy to the gag rule, reported onstage comments on their weblogs. Denise Howell, a lawyer based in L.A., and David Hornik, a venture capitalist, posted reports of interviews given by Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.


The rising popularity of weblogging may prompt conference organizers to rethink rules for reporting conferences.

Dan Gillmor, a columnist with the San Jose Mercury News, suggested the distinction between reporters and audience members no longer makes sense.

"Conference organizers cannot make an event off the record only for the official journalists anymore," wrote Gillmor. "The rules of 'journalism,' whatever that is, are changing. This is just one more example."

posted by me

:: 10:07:00 AM [+] ::
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