[1] In January 2007, an MBA member received press credentials identical to those of broadcast and print journalists at a federal court, to cover the trial of Lewis Libby, alongside bloggers from more established sites including Firedoglake, the Huffington Post, and Daily Kos.
[4] In June 2008, MBA became involved in a copyright dispute involving Associated Press demand of strict terms for bloggers quoting from their news at the request of Rogers Cadenhead whose Drudge Retort was affected.
[9][10][11] These critics have claimed that the MBA did not include any major bloggers as members nor represent a significant proportion of the blogging community.
Michael Arrington of TechCrunch also claimed, without support, that a business relationship existed between the Associated Press and the MBA.
[13] MBA supporters,[14] Robert Cox himself[15] and others[16] have written at length in response to these criticisms.