Traditionally, news has always been broadcasted by a large entity with armies of professional journalists. These entities can come in the form of corporations such as NBC, CBS, ABC, CTVGlobeMedia, or public/not-for-profit organizations, such as CBC or PBS. Now, with the internet changing how information is exchanged from a centralized to decentralized information source, we see the advent of blogs influencing mainstream media. The first blog that influenced mass news as we know it is the Drudge Report. This was the blog that broke the story of the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky affair to the world before any of the major media outlets got wind of the story.
Even though major news networks, such as CNN, have integrated blogging as a part of their news delivery, they have also argued that there are no adequate checks and balances when it comes to “breaking news” that originates from blogs. However, a blogger by the name of Charles Johnson also proved the converse true. In 2004, Johnson, who operates the Little Green Footballs blog, helped prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the documents raising questions about President Bush's National Guard service, presented by Dan Rather on CBS' "60 Minutes" were fakes. Many agree that this ultimately led to the resignation of Rather, the star anchor of the network.
So it looks like blogging is here to stay, and slowly it is becoming a legitmiate source of news. But like anything, one always has to take the credibility of the source in mind, whether it is a major broadcaster, or some guy sitting home in his den in a housecoat.
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