It's interesting, though, that we're seeing the emergence of a bifurcated media landscape and political conversation. People over a certain age exist in a universe where it's almost as if the web doesn't exist and things like the nightly news, the daily paper, and the cable networks are utterly dominant. For people below a certain age, the nightly news is totally irrelevant, the daily paper is primarily a website, and things like blogs and web videos matter a great deal.I hadn't considered this idea of a "bifurcated media landscape" until reading this post, but I fall completely into his bucket of "people below a certain age". I never, and I mean NEVER, watch television news. Wait...I take that back. I do watch cable news on Caucus and Primary nights, because that's the fastest way to get results. I also never miss an episode of The Daily Show. Most people wouldn't consider that "news", but it consistently offers more analysis of news and current events than a conventional news show. I will glance at a newspaper on Sunday mornings, sticking to the local news and the opinion page. Otherwise, though, I get my news entirely from the Internet. However, I'm fairly sure that my parents (who are not elderly by any means) get none of their news from blogs or any other websites.
Generally speaking, I'm in favor of the web's rise in the news space. Reputable blogs often have more in-depth coverage and analysis of events, and they allow for discussion and feedback. My only concern is that it contributes to the rise of "opinion media". Fox News provides conservatives their news sifted through a conservative filter. Increasingly, MSNBC is becoming the liberal equivalent to Fox News. If you're looking for news presented from the viewpoint that makes you the most comfortable or reinforces your opinions...then you're not really getting news as much as a massaging of your world view.
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I would agree with your comment re: opinion media. One lesson I took from the 2004 elections (and esp. being in with the Dean campaign) was that getting your news just from lefty blogs and campaign web sites (like the Dean For America blog back in 03/04) does tend to contribute to an echo chamber of sorts, where all dissenting opinion is washed away in a barrage of "oh I don't agree with that so therefore it must not be valid or relevant."
That is not to say that the MSM is free of bias. I just think that sometimes it's harder to see it there than on a blog or news site that makes no bones about its political affiliation.
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