During the last two weeks of December, 2007, I searched high and low for guides to help me set up Latte Republic. Unfortunately, I did not have access to the Handbook for Bloggers and Civil Dissidents from Reporters without Borders. The author, Clothilde Le Coz, is head of the Internet Freedom desk at Reporters Without Borders.
Le Coz tells readers: "Bloggers cause anxiety. Governments are wary of these men and women, who are posting news, without being professional journalists. Worse, bloggers sometimes raise sensitive issues which the media, now known as "traditional", do not dare cover. Blogs have in some countries become a source of news in their own right.
Nearly 120,000 blogs are created every day. Certainly the blogosphere is not just
adorned by gems of courage and truth. It is also often the source of confusion and disinformation and not all bloggers have the souls of reporters. That is why this handbook contains advice on creating and updating a blog, with no other ambition than that of free expression. For others it will be a struggle to draw attention to a particular issue."
The Handbook also addresses freedom of the press in third world nations and the growing importance of bloggers as sources of non-traditional news. I wish I would have had an opportunity to read the Handbook when I was setting up Latte.
The entire handbook (81 pages) can be read at the website address posted below:
http://www.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/guide_gb_md.pdf
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