DC Circuit on Blogging and the Reporter's Privilege:

Check out The Volokh Conspiracy and their piece on the DC Circuit's ruling for Judith Miller and Matthew Cooper in the Plame investigation.

An exerpt:

The DC Circuit has ruled that Judith Miller and Matthew Cooper have no First Amendment privilege not to testify in the Plame investigation, and that if a common law privilege exists it does not apply in their case. In a separate opinion rejecting the notion of a common law privilege, Judge Sentelle pointed out some of the difficulties of applying such a privilege in light of the blogosphere:

Perhaps more to the point today, does the privilege also protect the proprietor of a web log: the stereotypical "blogger" sitting in his pajamas at his personal computer posting on the World Wide Web his best product to inform whoever happens to browse his way? If not, why not? How could one draw a distinction consistent with the court's vision of a broadly granted personal right? If so, then would it not be possible for a government official wishing to engage in the sort of unlawful leaking under investigation in the present controversy to call a trusted friend or a political ally, advise him to set up a web log (which I understand takes about three minutes) and then leak to him under a promise of confidentiality the information which the law forbids the official to disclose?

Read the rest here.