Traditional media and blogosphere on collision course?

Two interesting blog-related articles appeared over the last week, courtesy of BBC News. The first - Cut and paste (Alan Connor) - looks at how some journalists are accused of passing blog material off as their own, or in some cases using the work of bloggers without their permission. Incidentally, the articles refers to the Mail on Sunday publishing the work of Policeman's Blog - see actual article or previous entry of mine.

The second article - Blogs reflect power of the pen (Bill Thompson) - looks at the continuing growth of blogging and how such growth may be changing the way journalists think about their work. The author argues that engaging with new media is a sensible option. What I found particularly appealing about the article is the idea that journalists may find it increasingly difficult to write about something and then consign any response to the letter page or an occasional "have your say" programme. To me it suggests that the blogosphere is increasingly rivaling all traditional forms of communication, particularly communications that come from corporations that may have a hidden agenda. And that includes employers! However, we shouldn't forget that the blogosphere (see first article) is also capable of producing the news in the first place.