Wired: Some view blogs as being as powerful as the introduction of the printing press, ushering in a new age of citizen journalism. Others view blogging as a fad. What’s your take on it?
Huffington: Simply put, blogs are the greatest breakthrough in popular journalism since Tom Paine broke onto the scene. I’ve been a fan — and an advocate — of the fast-moving blogstream ever since bloggers took the Trent Lott/Strom Thurmond story, ran with it and helped turn the smug Senate Majority Leader into the penitent former Senate Majority Leader.
When bloggers decide that something matters, they chomp down hard and refuse to let go. They’re the true pit bulls of reporting. The only way to get them off a story is to cut off their heads (and even then you’ll need to pry their jaws open). They almost all work alone, but, ironically, it’s their collective effort that makes them so effective. They share their work freely, feed off one another’s work, argue with each other, and add to the story dialectically. All of which has made the blogosphere the most vital news source in our country — and led me to take a flying leap into it with The Huffington Post.
