Monday, September 30, 2013

FIBRE AWARD

Freedom in Internet Blog Reporting Excellence
 
It's been 34 plus years since my first attempt to use a computer. A "trash 80" that had no internal memory to speak of. It used a 7 1/4" "floppy" disk with limited abilities. In the early '90's I first found the internet, but didn't use it to any extent until later in the decade and early in the new millennium. Today my life and most everyone else in the first world would be lost without our computers, in whatever form they may take, and the internet.

Something that most of us have come to expect, rely upon, enjoy, love and hate is the internet blogger.

What the heck is a blogger? Well, the term blogger comes from Weblog. A weblog is the combination of web and log. The internet being referred to as the web, web of internet connections, and the log is the continuing input of information into a website location. A blogger is a person who uses a website location to discuss whatever is his interest.

A bloggers interests may be personal or pertaining to intersexual relations or politics. Essentially, whatever one can think of is covered or discussed or referenced on the internet at some bloggers blog site.

I'm probably preaching to the choir, but I'm the guy who knows the least about blogs, except that I read several on a regular basis. That sure doesn't make me an expert.

Each of us visits blogs for various reasons. I visit some blogs that discuss intersexual relations. I visit some blogs that discuss gun control. Other blogs that I visit are news aggregators. One thing that each of these sites has is a host. This host sets the tone for the site. Some of these hosts have been instrumental in uncovering and reporting important information, information that has affected and will further affect the lives of millions of American citizens.

Recently, Congress has started to react to the bloggers that have exposed and are continuing to expose the illegal activities of those that would rule us. They are introducing legislation that would circumvent the Constitution of the United States and Amendment One of the Bill of Rights.

Amendment One of the Bill of Rights reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Are bloggers part of "the Press"? In an effort to say no Congress wants to limit the definition of who may be considered the "authorized press". The point is to limit those that have access to the newsmakers and to force "unauthorized" journalists to reveal their sources or suffer legal challenges.

I believe that anyone that reports the news has the right to protect their sources of information and that includes those folks that use their websites to do so. It is in our best interest to see to it that 1) Congress does not limit the freedom of the press and 2) that we recognize and reward those independent individuals that put themselves in harms way by reporting the news that the "authorized Journalists" will not.

Toward the end of recognizing and rewarding the independent journalists among us I am asking for your input and assistance in creating, promoting and supporting my effort to reward those internet bloggers that diligently pursue the truth.

I'm calling this effort FIBRE; Freedom in Internet Blog Reporting Excellence.

I will flesh out my ideas in the coming weeks.

I ask you to help me recognize those outstanding individuals of the internet that have worked to keep us informed.