One for the Bloggers!

Blogger gets same speech protections as traditional press: U.S. court
(Reuters) - A blogger is entitled to the same free speech protections as a traditional journalist and cannot be liable for defamation unless she acted negligently, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday.

..."As the Supreme Court has accurately warned, a First Amendment distinction between the institutional press and other speakers is unworkable," 9th Circuit Judge Andrew Hurwitz wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel.

...The ruling on Friday is particularly important in the era of online content, Volokh said.  "In this day and age, with so much important stuff produced by people who are not professionals, it's harder than ever to decide who is a member of the institutional press," Volokh said.

...the 9th Circuit found that the tax fraud allegations were a matter of public concern, which means Obsidian had to show evidence of negligent behavior by Cox.

The case in the 9th Circuit is Obsidian Finance Group LLC and Kevin Padrick vs. Crystal Cox, 12-35238.

For the record.

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