Does Freedom & Protection of the Press extend to Bloggers?

It will be interesting to see what happens with this topic. The freedom part seems pretty clear (Yes). The stickier part is the protection part. The "press" has enjoyed a certain amount of priviledge in getting the story. Access to people and places that the general public can't get. Do bloggers get the same access? It seems a bit analogous to a situation where everyone could create there own newspaper and magazine (we have that with the cheap printers and MS-Word, but it is easier to blog). Are some press and blogs more equal than others? (a different topic I suppose).

Dan Gillmor on Grassroots Journalism, Etc.: Note to Business Week: Bloggers Aren't Immune from Libel Law: "Well, sure, they can be sued for libel. But this piece suggests that pro journalists have more incentive than bloggers to tell the truth, and thus sets up the reader to think that the professionals therefore deserve more protection.

False. In fact, bloggers are hardly immune from libel laws. They, too, can be sued, as Yale law professor Jack Balkin noted a long time ago. (See also this story in Online Journalism Review.)"