Writing in Tech Centeral Station, James D. Miller says that mainstream media (MSM)—under competitive threat from the rise of blogging—could seek changes to laws and regulations in an effort to hinder bloggers from competing with them. First up are politically-focused blogs, which, in some cases, could be considered political contributions under a retooled set of campaign finance laws. 

The danger for most bloggers would lie not in contributing more than the legally permissible amount to a candidate, but rather in having to fill out the paperwork necessary to report their “political contributions”.

The other two avenues of attack are libel and slander, according to Miller. And bloggers will have a hard time fighting any changes, given the disorganized nature of the blogosphere and the lack of money and resources required to meet challenges.

Miller concludes,

The founders of our great country expected that different interest groups would seek to use the political process for their personal gain. So in seeking to get the government to hinder bloggers, the MSM will be acting exactly as men such as Alexander Hamilton would have predicted. And Hamilton would not have expected the courts to save bloggers. Rather, he would have hoped that bloggers themselves would politically organize to fight back against the MSM.

Meanwhile, the New Hampshire Union Leader editorializes that the US Federal Election Commission’s regulations—while exempting bloggers who aren’t coordinating with a political party or campaign—are complicated enough to muddy the waters. The editorial concludes with a call to action:

The FEC is accepting comment on the proposed rules, which be read at www.fec.gov. A letter opposing the expansion of campaign regulations to bloggers could help prevent that frightening scenario from ever happening.

Hmm. Isn’t that a case of mainstream media going to bat for bloggers? It only goes to show that there’s still plenty of speculation and confusion around MSM’s reaction to any competitive threat blogging may pose.

The Chicago Tribune offers up one more piece on the specter of regulation for political blogs, as published here by the Columbis Ledger-Enquirer.