Joshua Garvin

I am part of that rare breed, who has been both a blogger and traditional journalist and blogger-- and devoted to bridging the gap between the two.

When word got out that the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd accidentally published part of Josh Marshall’s blog in a column in the New York Times, more than one blogger reacted with glee. It was an inadvertent error, but for some, a satisfying one nevertheless. After all, aren’t bloggers supposed to be the mainstream media parasites?

No—Dowd’s accident is yet another sign of how traditional media outlets take cues from those who populate the blogosphere. Not everyone in the mainstream media has been loath to admit this.

This symbiosis has been a long time coming. But it’s increasingly evident every day as Internet-based reporters are increasingly setting priorities for the national news agenda. Greg Sargent, then at the American Prospect, lauded Murray Waas, an independent web reporter, for unearthing the truth about the outing of Valerie Plame and prodding the mainstream media onward in 2006. Jay Rosen crowned Waas the “Woodward of now,” explaining that the actual “Woodward of now,” Bob Woodward, had somehow missed the story.