This brings a very interesting perspective to the reasons for the glut of blogs out there. Most are drivel, but some communities are using the idea of 'community journalism' or 'blogospheres' to empower citizens to report from their perspective - one that is often left out of the mainstream media (see www.northfield.org as a model example of a really positive weblog community.) Some organized groups are committed to developing credible community journalism circles, training volunteers involved in different segments of the community to report in truthful ways and moderating forums according to strict rules of engagement based on respect and civility.
Unfortunately, readers perpatuate the indiscriminate puking out of information based on emotional reactions and personal agendas. This column interestingly points out that people do isolate themselves from information sources that may offer information different from what they want to hear. It seems as though media watchdog organizations would best service both our communities and the journalism field if they would focus on educating people as to what blogs really are: editorial in nature, and that even though some can be credible, they are opinionated and personal commentary. We need to perpetuate the sentiment that blogs should not be relied on as a news source, but rather a method of diologue, an analyzation tool and a way to take the cultural temperature.