If you read Bearing Drift, Virtucon, NLS or RK, then this post is for you

By J.R. Hoeft

Whether it’s your favorite Virginia political blogs or the Politico, blogs and on-line news sources have changed the face of politics and news consumption.

A couple interesting tidbits from a NY Times article today:

People look for news far more often during the day, they are far more likely to seek multiple sources as well as favorite bloggers and writers, and they are far more interested in watching video online.

And…

A spring poll by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that 17 percent of Americans learn about the campaign via the Internet on a typical day, more than double the number that did in the spring of 2004.

And remember that big media circus surrounding Obama overseas? Did it help the news networks? Did it shape public opinion?

Most recently, Brian Williams of “NBC Nightly News,” Charles Gibson of “World News” on ABC and Katie Couric of the “CBS Evening News” all traveled with Senator Barack Obama as he toured the Middle East and Europe, yet household ratings for each of those three newscasts were flat compared with the previous week.

It is no longer a monolithic media world. With several places for voters to consume their news, there are now more ideas, conversations, and information available than ever before for folks to make a reasoned decision come November.

And that’s a good thing.