internet - Are bloggers journalists?

I had already heated debates on this issue and it is probably not going away. At least the "Reporters Sans Frontiers" came to our rescue. Bloggers complain that they are not allowed to attend off-the-record briefings. Some bloggers told me they think that "off-the-record" is a journalistic code that is not valid for bloggers. Nothing is more upsetting in my role as a journalist, surrounded by happy bloggers, that a meeting that is off-the-record, while the bloggers happily type away.
The issue came up during the famous Thursday meeting at the Berkman Center of the Harvard Law School last week. The issue ended, like most issues, in a kind of unclear mayhem. Some of the more ethical inclined webloggers have developed their own standards and announce them on their weblog, like in this case. (Unfortunately, I did not find the correct link, so much for transparency.)
How sympathetic it is: you cannot first look up the individual standards of each person in the street you meet at their weblog, so some discussion might be in place.
Can weblogs just repeat assumptions, lies and publish anonymous letters (like here a harmless case in Living in China)? After the Drudge-report almost anything the weblogs do looks rather harmless, but it is not.
Ok, I have promised already a few colleagues I would do something about this. This weekend I will start a forum (hoping it does not take too much of my not available time) to discuss ethical standards for weblogs. Are they to be treated like real media? Are bloggers real journalists? And what kind of journalistic values bloggers should adhere to? Seems good as an open discussion for bloggers, journalists, and people who are mixed up like me and Joseph.
Please use the comment section for any areas you want to discuss, so I can included from the start in the forum.