Is Jeff Gannon Crazy?

Jeff Gannon (nee James Guckert) has agreed to sit on a panel at a National Press Club event, reports Editor and Publisher. (h/t Media Bistro) The panel will discuss blogging and on-line reporting.

Even though their career requires no professional certification and no licensing, reporters who see themselves as "legitimate" are fiercely protective of their credentials:

"The idea was talking about these issues and who should be allowed to set up shop [as a legitimate journalist]," Madden told E&P. "It is not intended to be a forum for [Gannon] to present his side unchallenged. It is going to be moderated and there will be others on the panel."

When asked if giving Gannon a spot on the panel wrongly legitimizes him as a journalist, Madden disagreed. "It depends on how you look at it," he said. "He is there because the panel is presumably going to talk mostly about his case. He was, in large part, the central figure in the case that got us interested in the topic."

Gannon's going to be in for some nasty questioning at this event, but he should hold his head high. Blogging and on-line journalism are becoming mainstays of the way the world gets its news. We may have our problems, but so do the established media. Gannon's seat in the White House press room was more legit than many, less legit than some, but MSM reporters need to recognize that from here on out, they'll be rubbing shoulders with bloggers.