A Bloggers' Union?

I found the link to this article on readwriteweb.com by Josh Catone through Journerdism.com.

Whisperings of a bloggers' union are raising the hackles and interests of people in and outside the field. Chris Mooney broached the topic in last month's Columbia Journalism Review. Both writers point out the benefits and potential need as the blogosphere continues to grow exponentially but realize the obstacles that could prevent it from happening.

Mooney writes:

How, for example, do you define and otherwise distinguish "bloggers" themselves? Bloggers are an (in)famously diverse bunch: grouping them isn’t just grouping apples and oranges, but apples and oranges and bananas and the occasional kumquat.

and Catone elaborates:

The arguments against blogger unionization are mostly two-fold: 1. blogging is still in its infancy and is barely ready for a unionized workforce, and 2. the blogosphere is built on the idea that anything goes, and organizing would undermine that premise.

While Mooney believes that this is both inevitable and necessary, Catone doesn't take a stance on either side but discloses that he makes a comfortable living as a blogger, without a union. Mooney sums up his arguments for a union with an appeal to one of journalism's most inherent values: fairness.

The paradigm shifts we’re in the midst of—in media usage and, then, in standards of intellectual property—demand that we rethink not just what writers contribute to the media marketplace, but also how they should be compensated for their contributions. Individual blogs, and Web sites hosting large numbers of bloggers, are profiting—not just culturally and intellectually, but economically—from bloggers' work. Organizing, in that sense, seems not only inevitable, but necessary; "professional" bloggers need to be compensated for their work. It’s only fair. 

I personally think unionizing bloggers would be akin to herding cats, but we'll see what happens.