This week a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge in California is deciding whether or not Apple Computer can force journalists from Apple enthusiast websites PowerPage and AppleInsider to disclose their confidential sources to Apple attorneys. Aren't journalists protected under First Amendment and other laws that allow them to protect their sources? The EFF says the court is also determining whether "online reporters are legitimate journalists," although it acknowledges that, for most of the hearing, the judge has assumed that they were journalists and examined whether the reporter's shield should apply in this case. At issue now is whether Apple has overcome this qualified privilege by demonstrating that its need for the information is greater than the need to protect the confidentiality of these journalists' sources. If the journalists must surrender their sources so that Apple can sue those who gave them their scoops on the Asteroid story, this raises serious concerns....

The trade secret law is what might allow the company to subpoena PowerPage and AppleInsider journalists, which Apple maintains were not undertaking an investigative reporting function "in the manner of a legitimate news outlet." Not About Blogs Recently, some mainstream news publications have incorrectly reported that Apple is attempting to subpoena blog journalists. Conclusion If the court determines that Apple is right, will the company, as well as others, have the legal backing to force journalists to divulge who gives them pre-launch product information? Even if Apple does not succeed in forcing the journalists to reveal who gave them the inside scoop about its Asteroid product launch, Apple has shown those who might serve as journalistic sources that it will use its significant corporate resources to sue - even though the company claims that PowerPage and AppleInsider are not legitimate news outlets. There are a lot of different ways this can go, and of course we remain hopeful that the court will end up protecting these journalists," Opsahl says....

• -Apple Lawsuit Challenges Legitimacy of Website Journalism

The Pointlessness of Current Videogame Journalism. the pointlessness of current videogame journalism. I wouldn't expect an overnight change from the current superficial to a superfluous model of videogame journalism, but a gradual expunging of the arrogant, child-minded and ultimately pointless style of writing and mindset would be more than welcome, and perhaps essential if the videogame press is to survive as videogamers grow up and mature past the age of 16. ...

In a futile attempt to downplay the inability to deal with requests for press registration of online media, CeBIT questions the 'ethics' of online journalists and bans them all from CeBIT2000.. To meet the journalistic criteria an applicant must be employed in a publishing or broadcasting capacity in which it can be verified that journalistic/ethical codes are adhered to. For this reason we can only issue you with press ID for the fair on presentation of a valid journalist's ID. We ask for your understanding for this ruling, which had to be introduced to safeguard the confidentiality of our exhibitors. I guess that free journalists are already facing problems, let alone people who run their own website. In other words he doubts the ethics of a free journalist or a website owner....