This is just one example of what happened during the 2004 political conventions. Note than a number of bloggers work with the mainstream media, but not all by any means. Savvy politicians are well-aware of the strength of the internet in information dispersal. You can look down the list and draw your own conclusions about objectivity, but the same is true for mainstream sources.

You wait and see what happens this election cycle.

In Iraq, some of the best work has been done by bloggers, often funded by donations. Michael Yon is high on this list, but not the only one by any means. Their reputations for quality were earned over time, which is pretty much the only way it can be.

There are other examples. Brendan Loy is mostly about college sports and miscellaneous things, but during Katrina he was on top of things as few mainstream sources were.

The blogosphere and other internet sources are not replacements for the mainstream media, but I think they make the whole thing work better, and certainly they make the mainstream work harder.