This is like, the Josh Wolf pie chart of doom. It was only a scant few years ago when bloggers were still fighting for recognition as legitimate media sources — and if going to jail for reporting and disseminating information is any kind of validation, well, we’ve landed with a painful slam of the judge’s gavel and a door with metal bars. Nate Anderson at Ars Technica reports in Online journalists now jailed more often than other media:
If you think it’s tough to be a blogger because your Google AdWords revenue has been in the toilet lately, the Committee to Protect Journalists wants to remind you that Internet journalist—including bloggers—can and do suffer much more around the world. According to the group’s new report, Internet journalists now make up the largest single group of imprisoned journalists.
Of the 125 journalists imprisoned around the world for doing their jobs, 45 percent are “bloggers, Web-based reporters, or online editors.” China continues its ten-year winning streak when it comes to tossing writers into jail, with Cuba, Burma, Eritrea, and Uzbekistan next in line.
The numbers are down slightly from December 2007, but CPJ notes that the arrests are hitting freelancers the hardest. Without the resources of a major media company behind them, lone bloggers and freelance writers often lack the resources to mount a vigorous defense when they are detained. (…read more, arstechnica.com)