Surprised no one else has written about this one. Awhile back I wrote about a case where the NYPD arbitrarily denied three bloggers press credentials. Those three bloggers were Rafael Martínez Alequin, a long-time critic of Tsar Bloomberg's, who publishes the New York City Free Press, Ralph E. Smith, who publishes The Guardian Chronicle, and David Wallis is founder and CEO of Featurewell.com. Gary Tilzer also had an excellent analysis of this situation.

Norman Siegel, the attorney representing the three bloggers, has won their case and they have been issued press credentials. From Your Free Press:

Three bloggers who had sued New York City after the Police Department denied them press credentials because they work for online or nontraditional news outlets were issued credentials on Friday after the police relented, the bloggers’ lawyer, Norman Siegel, said.

Bloggers saw their victory as a major step in gaining respect for the job they are doing of keeping the public informed. Others saw the city's turnaround as a realization of the the changing ways New Yorkers are receiving their news and interacting with local government, politics and and their community...

The three bloggers — Rafael Martínez Alequin - Your Free Press, Ralph E. Smith- The Guardian Chronicle and David Wallis - featurewell.com — filed a federal lawsuit in November asserting that they were denied press credentials in 2007 “with little explanation or opportunity for appeal.” They argued that the system for issuing press credentials was “inconsistent and constitutionally flawed.” Mr. Siegel sad he was delighted with the outcome, but he vowed to continue the lawsuit, saying further reforms were needed. "This is an important first step, but only a first step," Siegel said. We still need to address the constitutional problems in the system of granting press credentials in new York City that has run amok and needs to be changed immediately, so the lawsuit continues." Siegel said he would prefer to see the city Department of Consumer Affairs handle press credentials, calling it inappropriate for a high-profile agency like the police department to have the final word on who is a journalist.

More from Your Free Press:

Martínez Alequin, on his website, pays homage to the rising blogosphere of which he is a denizen and (now) a hero:

"The Internet in just a few short years has put newspapers on their own obit page and elected a president. Most Americans today receive their news over the Internet; where a guy in his manhattan apartment can compete on the internet with old line institutions of journalism."

Bloggers need to appreciate what this is all about. Blogging is a new medium and the legalities are still being worked out. Even Daily Gotham has, behind the scenes, been feeling out the legalities of our blogging efforts vis a vis sources, law enforcement, copyright, inside sources, etc.

Norman Siegel has made some history here, winning us bloggers a touch more respect as real journalists. I used to think that because no one paid me for this I wasn't a "real" journalist. It took a very interesting situation and a discussion with a lawyer from the Media Bloggers Association to make me realize that very often I am in the position of being a journalist and I actually take it more seriously than some so-called journalists for fake news outlets like "Fox News."