So here's my first little blog post just to get myself on the map. Of course I've already had a blog for...hmm...3 and a half years on Livejournal, but this is for my Journalistic Writing class. We're looking at how blogging has become such a powerful force in news today, in a variety of different fields. Blogs have abilities and powers that normal journalists and reporters for traditional news sources don't have... they have the small armies of readers who can contribute and do research and inside information, they have more room to express controversial opinions, and they can more easily integrate a variety of media and connections to other articles than print.

Another reason blogs are so powerful was demonstrated in this year's Burmese protests. Civilians in Rangoon while the events were taking place, before any official journalists could get there, reported on the events as they were happening and uploaded photos, videos, and more. The internet age is about NOW, and blogs can do that. They don't have to wait until the presses roll and the papers hit the streets. In this way, it's a revolution similar to radio in the early 20th century.