Francis Sedgemore has all the links on how Independent journalist and part-time "cultural critic" Johann Hari has threatened legal action against David T from Harry's Place. It's quite worrying indeed, and proof again that the mainstream media feel threatened by the blogging tykes. 
It's all rather convenient actually. Certain people can point to blogs as a way of actually avoiding conversation. User-generated content as distraction from the workings of power. If, for instance, you have a major politician coming to speak, you ask everyone to keep their questions as non-critical as possible and use their blog to rant from.
You stand up and preach about how "user-generated" or "Web 2.0" stuff is all fine and dandy and the future of everything, with cheese on top. But bloggers don't get press passes. Bloggers are far easier to freeze out of "the conversation" than the mainstream media.
And, if Mr. Hari had tried to use the lawyers from the Indy to shut down mainstream media coverage, there would be howls of outrage.
For more, here are links from TailRank to full coverage of the Hari affair.
