The Media Bloggers Association (MBA) is a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

membership-based, non-

partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

voluntary association A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteers, to form a body (or organization) to a ...

describing its activity as "supporting the development of '

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

ging' or '

citizen journalism Citizen journalism, also known as collaborative media, participatory journalism, democratic journalism, guerrilla journalism, grassroots journalism, or street journalism, is based upon members of the community playing an active role in the pro ...

' as a distinct form of

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

". In January 2007, an MBA member received press

credentials A credential is a piece of any document that details a qualification, competence, or authority issued to an individual by a third party with a relevant or '' de facto'' authority or assumed competence to do so. Examples of credentials include ac ...

identical to those of broadcast and print

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

s at a federal court, to cover the trial of

Lewis Libby I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby (first name generally given as Irv, Irve or Irving; born August 22, 1950) is an American lawyer and former chief of staff to Vice President of the United States, Vice President Dick Cheney known for his high-profile indic ...

, alongside bloggers from more established sites including

Firedoglake ''Firedoglake'' (abbreviated as ''FDL'') was an American collaborative blog that described itself as a "leading progressive news site, online community, and action organization". Established by film producer Jane Hamsher in 2004, ''Firedogl ...

, the

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

, and

Daily Kos Daily Kos ( ) is a group blog and internet forum focused on the U.S. Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party and Modern liberalism in the United States, liberal American politics. The site publishes blog posts, polls, election and cam ...

. The MBA described this as a significant step forward in its efforts on behalf of its members, despite the fact that the major blogs covering the trial did not rely on the MBA for their credentials. In June 2008, MBA became involved in a copyright dispute involving

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

demand of strict terms for bloggers quoting from their news at the request of

Rogers Cadenhead Rogers may refer to: Places Canada *Rogers Pass (British Columbia) *Rogers Island (Nunavut) United States * Rogers, Arkansas, a city * Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement * Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated community ...

whose '' Drudge Retort'' was affected.

Criticism

Many of the MBA's members are unknown bloggers, but some are prominent bloggers such as

Glenn Reynolds Glenn Harlan Reynolds (born August 27, 1960) is an American legal scholar who is the Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee College of Law. He is known for his American politics blog, ''Instapundit''. Ins ...

Instapundit Instapundit is a conservative blog maintained by Glenn Reynolds, a law professor at the University of Tennessee. History and characteristics InstaPundit was launched in August 2001 as an experiment, and a part of Reynolds' class on Internet law ...

, Oliver Willis, Liza Sabater of ''Culture Kitchen'', and

Jeff Jarvis Jeff Jarvis (born July 15, 1954) is an American journalist, associate professor, Public Speaking, public speaker and former Television criticism, television critic. He advocates the Open Web and argues that there are many social and personal bene ...

of ''BuzzMachine''. Still, some bloggers have claimed that the MBA has made sweeping claims to represent bloggers. These critics have claimed that the MBA did not include any major bloggers as members nor represent a significant proportion of the blogging community.

Michael Arrington J. Michael Arrington (born March 13, 1970) is the American founder and former co-editor of TechCrunch, a blog covering the Silicon Valley technology start-up communities and the wider technology field in America and elsewhere. Magazines such as ...

TechCrunch TechCrunch is an American global online newspaper focusing on topics regarding high tech, high-tech and Startup company, startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare. I ...

also claimed, without support, that a business relationship existed between the

and the MBA. ''

BoingBoing ''Boing Boing'' is a website, first established as a zine in 1988, later becoming a group blog. Common topics and themes include technology, futurism, science fiction, gadgets, intellectual property, Disney, and left-wing politics. It twice wo ...

'', one of the blogs critical of the MBA, issued a corrective stating that it was the

and the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' which implied that the MBA was acting on behalf of all bloggers, and not the MBA itself. MBA supporters, Robert Cox himself and others have written at length in response to these criticisms.

References

{{reflist Journalism-related professional associations Blogging