Hand in Hand (Post 6-ish)

In many regards, different sectors of the press sphere feed off one another. They don’t work together but simultaneously- often reporting the same story in different ways. In the scheme of press spheres, I think of the New York Times being a big bubble, almost an authority. The Times reports a multitude of subjects and stories in a (mostly) unbiased way. And, call me old fashioned, but the fact that it passed through editors and is printed on paper, raises the credibility above that of other sources. Then come the blogs. Many blogs I don’t see as part of the press ecology. They are rambling thoughts and aren’t relaying much important. However, the blogs I follow are quite credible and are relaying their opinion of news stories. The Daily Dish doesn’t really share much of a connection with the Times. Sullivan seems to mostly snag random quotes from other blogs and then share is feelings about the quote. Blogs are more commentary, less news. Think Progress takes stories from newspapers and C-Span and pushes the information to the extreme left.
Blogs especially are an important part of the new press sphere. Blogs keep major news corporations (ahem, Fox) and government in check. Since most bloggers have no editors or sponsors to appease, they could quickly become the back bone of a democratic press sphere. Any one of the nations citizens can tap in and share information. This seems like complete freedom in relationship to the Times who has more restrictions of what they can write. Blogs could not exist without sources such as the Times. They need stories to feed off and an informed public to respond. In the coming years, the press sphere must keep a fair balance between the actual reporting and straight facts from places like the New York Times, Associated Press, and Reuters but, must also allow room for the opinions and unedited information from a variety of sources.