India Embraces Blogger Reporters

The Indian government, The Times of India reports, is planning to open doors to blogger reporters:

India is in the process of framing rules for granting accreditation to Internet journalists and bloggers for the first time, taking a reality check on an evolving world of net writers who could shape opinion and who have already been granted access to official corridors in countries such as the US.

"We are framing the rules for giving accreditation to dotcom journalists, including bloggers," Principle Information Officer Shakuntala Mahawal said.

Good news, and is it worthwhile for other blogger reporters to try to get together to offer guidance to governments and would-be blogger reporters about how to convince officials on this kind of thing? Getting a journalistic visa is a nightmare in a lot of places, requiring extensive documentation and sponsorship. How can bloggers fit into all this?