Notes From A Busy Weekend
In the course of journeying to and from the southeastern U.S. in too little time, I caught Saturday's BookTV broadcast on C-SPAN 2, featuring Michael Moore (Stupid White Men), Benjamin Cheever (Selling Ben Cheever) and Barbara Ehrenreich (Nickel And Dimed). I had hoped to link to the online version, but unfortunately this one's not on the list. It was excellent - all of the writers were articulate and funny, and offered unique perspectives on economic realities.

Time's side-by-side articles, Making Time For Baby and The Cost Of Starting Families had my head whipsawing like a Wimbeldon spectator's. Conclusion: it's never easy. My admiration for those managing families, at any age, knows no bounds.

Finally, on a lighter note (ha), it seems California is one of the twenty-seven U.S. states without a single Waffle House. For those so unfortunately situated, the Web offers the look and sound, but not the "scattered, smothered, chunked, topped, diced & peppered" hashbrowns.

Are You A "Public Figure?"
The convergence of these items prompts me to pose the question -

• John Hiler's article about, and proposed Code Of Ethics for, weblog "journalists." ("Sometimes a blog is just a blog. But sometimes it's not.")

• Chris Pirillo's recent troubles, and Eric Norlin's observations about "super node status."

• Attorney Richard Sprague's agreement to be treated as a "limited purpose" public figure in his libel lawsuit against the ABA, stemming from an ABA Journal article that dubbed him "perhaps the most powerful lawyer-cum-fixer in the state" (Sprague doesn't like the "fixer" part, because it could imply he improperly manipulates the outcome of cases). [Law.com]

As illustrated by Richard Sprague's suit against the ABA, "public figure" status makes it more difficult to bring and win a defamation case. See also The Chilling Effects Clearinghouse ("The degree of protection [against a defamation claim] generally depends on whether the person commented about is a private or public figure and whether the statement is regarding a private or public matter. According to the New York Times rule, when the plaintiff is a public figure and the matter is also public, the plaintiff must prove 'malice' on the part of the defendant. If both parties are private individuals, there is less protection because the plaintiff only needs to prove negligence;" emphasis added).

The proliferation of weblogs is bound to add twists to this area of law. Traditionally (and logically), public figure status has turned on "prominence," and can attach to those who, for example, "thrust themselves to the forefront of particular public controversies in order to influence the resolution of the issues involved." See Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323, 345 (1974). Can the day be far off when a blogger will attempt to answer libel allegations (see John Hiler's article) by pointing to the subject's Daypop and Blogdex numbers?

Urgent Fax
California Senator Debra Bowen's Anti-Fax Spam Bill (SB 1358) cleared committee this week. [Newsbytes, via llrx] Says Bowen, “Junk faxes aren’t just an annoying invasion of privacy, they also force people to foot the advertising costs of fax advertisers trying to hock wireless phone services, office equipment, vacation packages, and more. I put a survey up on my website in January to ask people about junk faxes and virtually all of the more than 400 people who have taken the survey said they – not some marketing company – should have the right to decide what gets sent to their fax machine.” I subscribe to a Web based fax service and get tons of the stuff. Bowen also spearheaded the 1998 amendment to California Business and Professions Code Section 17538.4, regarding unsolicited faxes and email. (As of this morning, 207 addresses are being filtered from my work email account alone.)

InstaPundit and ConservativeEconomist Articles
Glenn Reynolds has a Tech Central Station column today on the future of weblogs. ("[E]ven top-of-the-line mainstream news institutions like The New York Times are becoming more like webloggers all the time, cutting the size and number of foreign bureaus, and relying more and more on wire services for original reporting to which they add commentary and 'news analysis.' That opens an opportunity for a widely-dispersed network of individuals to make a contribution.") Glenn also points to another TCS column by James Miller. Miller speculates about bloggers "selling out" if the economy picks up:

"Soon, I suspect, the Internet will become a more profitable place to operate. When it is again profitable to attract a wide audience, bloggers will be hired by media companies. While not all bloggers will 'sell out' / 'sign up' those that do will get the advantage of working under a media brand name and will consequently grow in popularity and influence."

Miller predicts "signing up" will occur because independent bloggers will be drowned out by the multi-media roar of corporate sites: "When high-speed Internet access proliferates...professional sites will go multi-media and the solo bloggers won't be able to compete." He presumes that "selling out" will follow. Maybe. But I'm reminded of the SXSW audience member who observed that fake corporate blogs are "like your dad trying to buy pot." They won't get read. So "selling out" has a built-in disincentive. See generally Gonzo Marketing.

Listening To Frank, And The Radio
Frank Paynter writes that the University of Wisconsin's student radio station is going off Web air in light of the pending CARP recommendations, and he's right, this sux indeed. The red-letter day for WSUM and others will be Tuesday, May 21. The Copyright Office has until then to decide whether or not to accept the recommended rate structure. Hopefully the uproar and input will make a difference, and these stations will be able to breathe a sigh of relief (let's hope they can stick it out). Making a ruckus is the most useful thing to do in meantime (and - usefully - doesn't cost a dime). Save Internet Radio is a great place to start.

▪ (later) More ruckus: "The American Open Technology Consortium" and "GeekPAC". [Doc]