Freedom of speech in a Web 2.0 world

Blogging may be an optional job function for many American journalists — something "nice" within the Web 2.0 world but not yet a part of the day-to-day workload of a daily newsroom.

Traditional journalists may also look at blogging with a sense of disdain, seeing it as only a platform for opinion.

But in countries like Iran, blogging is sometimes the only way to present accurate news and air opinions, without the intervention of a heavy handed government on state-run printing presses.

A group of film students at the Vancouver Film School explored the issue of Iranian blogging in a short video essay.

The production is a mix of dramatic animation and music exploring the prevalence of blogging in Iranian society. The country ranks third in the world when it comes to the number of blogs, the video claims.

While this video production focuses on the role of blogging as a reformist movement, blogs are not limited to underground topics of dating, government opposition and entertainment.
President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has even his own blog as have many of the country's clerics.

But even as part of the country's blogosphere, the government and its controlling forces aren't making it easy for bloggers on the other side.

As a group of Iranian bloggers started to board a plane to the U.S. to cover the presidential election in October they were abruptly stopped and their passports were confiscated.

The government had earlier signed off on the trip but decided at the last minute to keep the bloggers from traveling to the U.S.

The government has also blocked access to more than 5 million sites, according to the British newspaper the Telegraph. Among the sites banned are Facebook and YouTube.

Bloggers who make a name for themselves are also being targeted. Hossein Derakhshan was recently arrested and charged with spying for Israel, according to a state news agency.

It's obvious cyberspace can be more difficult to monitor than ink and paper.

But as the industry steps into a new era of web-based journalism, does this new medium remain at the mercy of the state censors and oppressive government policies?

In places like Iran, it appears so.