To blog or not to blog

OregonBloggers

It is not a good time to be a blogger in Oregon.

An Oregon court recently ruled that a blogger pay $2.5 million to a company she allegedly slandered on her blog because bloggers don't enjoy the same types of legal protections as more traditional media.

Oregon's law states that media protections related to providing sources, information, etc... extend to "any medium of communication" with the public. The problem is that the ruling judge claims that the blogger is a self-proclaimed investigative blogger and is not affiliated with a traditional media organization (paper, TV, wire service...). Therefore, bloggers  are not  a protected medium of communication under Oregon law.

My question is how long will it take for laws to catch up with emerging technology? The blogosphere is becoming the predominant news source for people around the world.

Furthermore, if these slanderous claims came from someone at a newspaper and not a blogger, would it make them less offensive or valid?

What if this happened in Kentucky?

Lets get with the times here, folks.