With the growth of blogging, everyone can now voice their opinions on current events. More and more, it seems like the major news networks are giving increased airtime to programs featuring commentators rather than pure journalists. CNN has Nancy Grace, FOX News has “The O’Reilly Factor,” MSNBC has “Countdown with Keith Olbermann.” Today, these programs could be viewed as a response to the collective voice of bloggers.
It is important to consider for a moment the number of Americans who actually read blogs. A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll found that 44% of Americans with Internet access between the ages of 18 to 29 read blogs regularly. People who read blogs have learned to understand that most of the dialog is commentary. That is the very nature of a blog. But what about the 56% who don’t read blogs or the percentage of Americans who don’t have Internet access?
In the past, people would watch the evening news to hear the latest stories and then turn off the TV to discuss them. Now, we are being force-fed commentary on a medium that used to be reliable. The big question is, are Americans who haven’t experienced the blogging revolution able to realize this shift in programming?
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