The National Press Club has decided to go forward with plans to feature controversial former “correspondent/escort” Jeff Gannon at a panel discussion on the topic of journalism and blogging, called “Who is a Journalist?”

Many bloggers, many journalists, and many blogger-journalists would rather not be represented by Gannon at this point. But, as Gannon might say, these whiners have “lost touch with reality.” The truth is, we’re moving into a new era where individuals, not organizations, will decide who is a journalist and who’s not. The days of Walter Cronkite telling us “the way it is” are long gone. For good or ill, there are people who would still read Gannon’s Talon News as the gospel truth each day if he were to resurrect it. So I respect the Press Club for not backing down on this one.

I do agree with those who say that Gannon should not have received White House press credentials. However, I say that based on the relatively small size of his Web audience, rather than his political views or sexual proclivities. Pick the journalists who reach the largest audiences — whether on air, in print or online.

Dallas-based Blockbuster has closed the book on the “no late fees” crisis in Texas and 46 other states. The New Jersey attorney general’s office, which announced the first state investigation, is still pursuing its own lawsuit. The Dallas Morning News reports today:

Blockbuster Inc. agreed to pay $630,000 and refund customers as part of an agreement with 47 states including Texas and the District of Columbia investigating the company’s “no late fees” promotion.

The Dallas-based company’s ads failed to clearly disclose that a customer could be charged a $1.25 re-stocking fee or the retail price of a movie or game if it’s kept longer than the seven day-grace period that runs after the due date.

The ads also failed to disclose that the “no late fees” offer wasn’t available at all stores because not all franchise stores are participating.

Blockbuster must make refunds to customers who submit written claims that they were charged the fee and felt misled by the national television campaign in January.

“Advertisers may not use catchy slogans if those slogans are misleading,” said Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said during a press conference in Dallas Tuesday.

The settlement, which was brokered by Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers on behalf of the other states, also requires Blockbuster to make the existence of these fees clear in future ads.

Blockbuster senior vice president Karen Raskopf said the company “wants everyone to understand this program and to use it.” Most customers bring the movie back within two days of the due date, she said.

The $630,000 fine will be distributed to all states from the Oregon Attorney General’s office and amounts to about $13,000 per state to cover the costs of the investigations.

Two states didn’t participate, Vermont and New Hampshire. New Jersey is pursuing its own lawsuit filed in February, said spokesman Jeff Lamm for Attorney General Peter C. Harvey. “Our case is still active.”

Unfortunately for Blockbuster, the negative attention has undoubtedly caused more than $630,000 in damage to sales. Here’s hoping they can turn this mistake into a positive.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports on a freelance Florida television reporter who also runs his own PR firm — a firm that has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state government. The reporter appears to have put some safeguards in place to avoid conflicts of interest, but it does raise red flags. It’s not easy to straddle the worlds of journalism and PR without raising ethical issues. With blogs, politicized cable news, and other factors now muddling the mix, such ethical questions will become increasingly common — and difficult.

Yes, indeed. I love my job. Even if I can’t get love from anyone else — even in Singapore.

The Electric New Paper of Singapore has published an article headlined: “CONFESSION OF A PR CONSULTANT.” The subhead reads: “IT’S NOT EASY BEING A PUBLIC RELATION MAN. HE MUST WEAR A FAKE SMILE, SUCK UP AND TRY TO PLEASE EVERYONE.” (sic)

In the expose, Jason Tan (not his real name) reveals that he must throw parties to “entertain people that I don’t like,” and confides that “I have to be nice to all reporters, even though there are a few that I personally don’t like. I will give them a hug or a peck on their cheeks when I bump into them at social events.”

He adds, “It’s very tiring when you have to deal with people relationships every day. Sometimes it can get to the stage of being pretentious to one another.”

(sic — and I think I’m getting a little queasy, too.)

A recent front-page article in The Washington Post about corporate/CEO blogging describes the emerging phenomenon this way:

The soul-baring, anything-goes, free-for-all phenomenon called the Web log has come to this:

“This is the first of many commentaries I will make on this forum,” wrote General Motors Vice Chairman Robert A. Lutz in January when he first started his blog, fastlane.gmblogs.com, “and I’d like to begin with, surprise, some product talk — specifically, Saturn products.”

Web logs — or blogs — started as a way to talk about new technologies, vent about life and interact in a no-holds-barred forum. Since blogs became the next big thing, an increasing number of companies have come to see them as the next great public relations vehicle — a way for executives to demonstrate their casual, interactive side.

But, of course, the executives do nothing of the sort. Their attempts at hip, guerrilla-style blogging are often pained — and painful.

“Looking back before the dust settles on 2004, it was a great year of building momentum for BCA [Boeing Commercial Airplanes]. Our orders went up, with 272 in ‘04 compared to 239 in ‘03. It was a super year for widebodies for us,” wrote Randolph S. Baseler, Boeing Co.’s vice president of marketing, on Jan. 17 in his first entry at boeing.com/randy.

With blogs like that, who needs news releases? Some Internet watchers wonder if a blog that sounds like nothing more than a corporate press room is worth the effort.

“Repositing marketing materials on a blog is a waste of time,” said Rebecca Blood, author of “The Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining Your Blog.” “I would advise them to just stop right now. Those materials already exist. The blog that is powerful is when it is real.”

Ken Deutsch, a D.C.-based consultant, added his two cents in a subsequent letter to the editor:

Companies that use the traditional command-and-control approach to public relations and brand protection will fail to take advantage of the power of the Internet. Blogs are a reaction to the controlled world of media and PR. They embrace practices that PR departments fear — linking to competitors, open-ended dialogue and a leveling of communication hierarchies. Posting news releases on blogs or sending them to bloggers may be using blog technology, but not blog philosophy.

I can’t fully disagree with the criticisms; I’ve made similar points myself. However, the tone of the criticisms is starting to sound a little too familiar. These are the same arguments used in the mid-90s by those who said the World Wide Web itself would always be fundamentally “hip,” “nonhierarchical” and “un-commercial” — and today, 10 years later, is it any of those things? Guess what: once everybody and their Aunt Edna start doing something, it’s no longer hip.

In fact, I think that’s Aunt Edna signing up on Blogger.com as we speak.