Bloggers are doing some serious -- and dangerous -- journalism in some places around the world. This downloadable 87-page booklet offers help with some blogging basics  (in your choice of five languages), including ways to spread the word about a weblog and "establish its credibility through observing basic ethical and journalistic principles." But it goes farther, with  more "who," "what" and "why" to go with the "how-to":

Reporters Without Borders' Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents

RSF (the group's untranslated name is Reporters Sans Frontières) offers the booklet in French, English, Chinese, Persian or Arabic. I learned about the booklet from Wired; its article also mentions another online booklet I talked about here a few months ago, "For Freedom's Sake: Legal Guide for Bloggers" from the U.S.-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, with information for government workers and others who might wonder just what they should feel comfortable about saying in a personal blog, such as its  How to blog safely (about work or anything else) page.

More Law for Journalists
The EFF page just reminded me of another online resource, a  Court and Legal Handbook for Journalists, especially those who cover trials and legal issues. While it's a Massachusetts Bar Association publication with plenty of in-state information, reporters anywhere can use a lot of its information, including a guide to federal courts, a glossary of legal jargon, a summary of libel law, and an essay explaining why reporters should not use "innocent" as a synonym for "not guilty."

That last point came up in class recently. Some older editions of the Associated Press Stylebook -- and journalism textbooks based on it -- suggest using "innocent" in court results, to avoid publication errors made by accidentally dropping the "not." However, AP has updated its advice and now suggests "acquitted" to editors worried about convicting someone with a dropped "not."
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