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a relatively recent invention, and there are many people who would be immediately recognized as "journalists" who never got J school degrees.

Again, it comes back to the public right to know. If hundreds or thousands of citizens show up at a City Council meeting, the common response is to move to a larger venue where everyone can fit in or set up a television feed to additional rooms that can accommodate the crowd. That is the case here. If thousands of bloggers showed up on Capitol Hill seeking to cover debate of an issue in Congress, the folks running the facility should do the same. It is always up to each senator and representative to decide if they have the time to meet with a constituent or reporter, and that does not change.

What this still leaves unresolved is the question of who does get that coveted press pass. I really don't know the answer to that question. I don't believe it is a bad thing to leave that decision up to the governmental entity in question, on a case by case basis. If there is room to accommodate them, let them in. If not, make other arrangements. But the bottom line is that the press has no privilege whatsoever beyond what any citizen has. Therefore there is no question whatsoever that bloggers and citizen journalists are entitled to equal treatment.

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