Web becomes source - not outlet - for news

WEB BECOMES SOURCE -- NOT OUTLET -- FOR NEWS
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Peter Johnson]
Media experts say that the way "Hillary 1984" made its way into the national discussion serves as a cautionary tale for traditional news outlets, which risk spreading material that may be damaging or untrue to wider audiences -- all for the sake of staying current with the Web. On the Web, "you essentially have a public wall where anybody can put up a billboard and say anything," says Tom Rosenstiel of the Project for Excellence in Journalism. "And if the wall attracts a crowd, mainstream media write about it." That presents challenges for the media, he says: "If something is out there and having an impact, you probably have a responsibility to report it. But you have no less a responsibility to tell me if it's believable or not."
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20070326/mediamix26.art.htm