Newsbusters:
Should there be a "gatekeeper" regulating internet bloggers? In the aftermath of the Shirley Sherrod incident, that's what CNN promoted on July 23.
Those folks I mentioned know that it doesn't take blogs or anonymity to drag someone's name through the mud. They had their lives turned upside down by the traditional media. In fact, in the Lacrosse Players' case, they were happy for blogs like Durham in Wonderland, who acted as a check on the crusade by the media.
As for anonymity generally: many of the political broadsides and pamphlets and books that voiced the ideals of American independence and liberty were published anonymously or under pseudonyms. Writing anonymously has always been a way to put forth controversial ideas. They discussants on the program acknowledge the need for such a thing, but not in places as free and open as America. I think that's taking an awful lot for granted. Especially given the amount that free speech has been under attack around the 'free' world.
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