Is Poor Little Eason a Victim of "Blog-thuggery"?

Jay Rosen's apologia for Eason Jordan at his pseudo-blog PressThink includes a link to this interesting tidbit by The American Street:

I see this as an abuse of blogpower. In this case, I see it as blog-thuggery. I see them as intimidators hoping for a future squelching of free speech out of a journalist’s fear of negative professional consequence.

The Dread Pundit Bluto believes that true thuggery resides in the hearts of men and women who make unsubstantiated allegations against those who have laid their lives on the line to protect them. Journalists who do this must suffer "negative professional consequences", otherwise, how does journalism distinguish itself from propaganda?