J.D. LASICA'S entire article is worth reading. One cannot help but notice that each time blogging is spoken of by some of the established media practitioners, they are almost always cast in a negative light. An understandable, yet unbalanced position.

This is not just a local phenomenon.

"They are opinionated, ranting, often incoherent and frequently biased with little regard for accuracy or balance. They are also compellingly addictive and threatening to emerge as a new brand of journalism, writes Jody Raynsford, "If you are part of the blogging community, you are also part of the blogosphere – presumably with its own weather system." How wonderfully clever.

Love them or hate them, blogs are here to stay (comments and all). Right alongside Facebook, YouTube, GodTube, MySpace, LinkedIn and other social networking sites and services.

The enviable Chris "he-could-go-all-the-way" Berman of Sportscenter fame once said that there are no foolish questions, only foolish people who ask questions.

Here are a couple: Will blogs kill the old media? Probably not anymore than Amazon's kindle device will "kill" books. Is blogging journalism? No one ever claimed it was.

Blogs should be seen as complimenting rather than threatening the traditional media establishment. The Media Bloggers Association (www.mediabloggers.org <http://www.mediabloggers.org/> ), describe themselves as, "...supporting the development of 'blogging' or 'citizen journalism' as a distinct form of media; and helping to extend the power of the Press, with all the rights and responsibilities that entails, to every citizen."

They adhere to the following values: honesty, fairness and accuracy; transparency; accountability and trust; respect for the privacy of private citizens. Especially interesting is the "note on anonymity".

I will let J. D. Lasica have the last word: "The vast majority of media companies have missed the boat so far, and readers are turning to expert amateurs, people with a deep knowledge about a niche subject, and others with a flair for writing or interesting stories to tell – hundreds of thousands of bloggers who have become part of the media ecosystem.

If the news media chooses to ignore it, it'll continue to lose a chance to connect with readers on an intimate daily basis. And they'll become a bit less relevant with each passing day."

– ADRIAN SOBERS