LeBlanc has been a regular in downtown Fredericton for the last two years, spotting or stopping cabinet ministers and other power brokers on the sidewalks in front of government buildings for chats and photographs to provide content for his online journal. "This is the capital," he said. "All the generals are here. You never know who you'll run into."
LeBlanc is constantly grabbing images on his digital camera and then walking back to his small apartment and posting them on his website.
He often gets pictures of events out hours before regular media outlets do, including coverage of Premier Shawn Graham's first day in office. "All the media was behind me, so I just went out front and the first thing Shawn says is 'Oh, Charles.' I mean, I'm like a reporter but I'm not paid for it."
Leblanc's website is a massive collection of his musings, raw personal opinions and in some cases original journalism.
Tim Currie, who teaches online journalism at the University of King's College in Halifax, says bloggers like LeBlanc have begun to gain some recognition as legitimate journalists. "Many people are beginning to agree that what we used to call journalism needs to include a much broader spectrum of people who act journalistically. That we can't just consider reporters who work for mainstream media organizations as the only ones who can be journalists."
LeBlanc works in a journalistic grey area, but it doesn't deter him in the least, and neither does an almost complete lack of resources.
LeBlanc is on social assistance and often eats at the Fredericton soup kitchen just to make ends meet. His digital camera is a gift from an anonymous donor.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2006/11/02/nb-bloggertrial.html
Note: http://www.cbc.ca/canad...
Is A Blogger A Real Journalist? St John Trial Will Decide
Posted on Friday, November 03 at 09:46 by BC MaryContributed By
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Way2go, Charles Leblanc a real gaulois!
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"We are all in this together somehow, some more than others somehow"
<a href="http://2006.bloggies.com/">http://2006.bloggies.com/</a><br />
<br />
Do the MSM want to make the use of these words exclusive to themselves? <br />
is the pope catholic?
do bears poop in the woods?
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Diogenes said:
"I am Diogenes the Dog. I nuzzle the kind, bark at the greedy and bite scoundrels."
Bears do poop in the woods.
One does not have to be a journalist to write about that.
And who ever it was that raised the question of real journalist do give the appearance thy want the word applied only to MSM
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Diogenes said:
"I am Diogenes the Dog. I nuzzle the kind, bark at the greedy and bite scoundrels."
Will journalists try for a "distinct profession" clause or try to patent the word journalism? If having a blog gets one wider protection under the charter then I'm going to buy stock in weblog provider companies. |;-]
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Everybody got to deviate from the norm
If it was pulled, it's back again.
>>Anyone who can tell a story is a journalist as far as I'm concerned.
Absolutely and a "journalist", whether (s)he is a graduate of a journalism program at an accredited institution and employee of an MSM outlet or just a highschool-dropout-blogger should earn his/her status as a journalist by doing what journalists do. Writing! And should therefore be afforded the same protection as his/her "educated" and "employed" counterpart.
I think that this issue is deserves national and international coverage but I'll bet it does not get it simply because "journalists" have the upper hand. They have been the hand that feeds the masses their poison gruel for so long that the masses may not see the healthy meal offered by another hand and even if they do, the MSM is in a position to easily discredit it.
I've mentioned in many threads, both out here and in the forums that our "sources" need to be checked and double checked. Sometimes I've been ignored, sometimes I've been "corrected" to the effect that I shouldn't question something just because it didn't come from the MSM but rarely have I heard anyone agree with me. I find that a little disconcerting because most of us here are of similar mindsets.
The reason I believe so strongly in taking a moderate approach is simply for the purpose of gaining or preserving credibility. Those who make apparently wild accusations with little or no proof are doing a disservice to the cause. So are those who believe every statement made and provide links to them. Some bloggers are guilty of it and some aren't and the MSM almost always is. Unfortunately the blogger is the underdog and has to work that much harder to be seen, heard and believed.
How this story plays out will have an effect on the rights of every Canadian whether they know it or not.
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Everybody got to deviate from the norm
You got it a thousand times over. I've seen more than enough sloppy work. When a blogger does it, it's really bad and used as an example of why the blogs cannot be trusted, but when a professional journalist does it, it's just regular business as usual.
I sure hope that I'm doing a decent job, at least I feel as though I'm spending many times more time on research than on posting.
Too bad I did not get paid for it, but if I got paid for it, then what would they pay me to write about?
No worries there me thinksk!
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Everybody got to deviate from the norm