A lot of noise is being made about the Media Bloggers Association and their role in the AP cease and desist story. Most of it is uninformed. I’ve been a member since the thing began. It’s not a sham. It’s got members from the left and right. Robert Cox is a conservative, I don’t agree with him on anything, but he’s a stand up guy who has been a great advocate for collectively getting blogs access to things. In many cases its one thing if a site like Daily Kos asks for a press pass – they will get it, but it’s another thing when sites like mine or smaller are involved. That’s one of the things MBA has helped out with, and because of that I was able to cover one of the debates as well as a recent address by John McCain. MBA has also legally assisted blogs when they’ve come under fire, and as Rogers Cadenhead – the target of AP’s action – points out, they helped him too.
The funny thing is every time these issues pop up, people bitch about MBA being involved – and you would think, okay, if they don’t like Bob they would form their own group. And it doesn’t happen. So then some stupid company or group goes after blogs, they call on MBA for help, and the bitchfest starts again.
One of the first political bloggers in the world, Oliver Willis has operated OliverWillis.com since 2000. Contributor at Media Matters for America and The American Independent. Follow on Twitter at @owillis. Full bio.