What's the definition of a "journalist"? Senator Diane Feinstein thinks you're not a "real" journalist unless you get paid for it. California Senator Dianne Feinstein has proposed an amendment to the Media Shield Law - an irrelevant law ignoring protection already afforded by the First Amendment - that would limit the law's protection only to "real reporters," not bloggers and other upstart alternative media types. A real reporter, declared Madame Feinstein during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, is "a salaried agent" of a media company like the New York Times or ABC News, not a shoestring operation with volunteers and writers who are not paid. Feinstein voiced her concern "that the current version of the bill would grant a special privilege to people who aren't really reporters at all, who have no professional qualifications," like bloggers and citizen journalists. Last week, Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, worried the Shield Law, if passed, would be...(Read Full Post)