Citizen Journalism

"Blogs provide a means of publishing and distributing that is cheap and simple enough for everyone in the Western world to use directly, whether from home, school, the library or even a mobile phone." (pg. 85 Blogging) Before blogs the mainstream media was very much in control of the information that the public was receiving because they were the only entity that could pay for the costs of distributing the information. But blogs have become almost a check to the mainstream media by constantly questioning and disputing what the mainstream is presenting. Some people thought that blogs were a threat to journalism but I see them as a positive for a couple of reasons. Blogs have the big advantage of giving you first-hand reports from people that are experiencing the events as they are unfolding. Blogs can also give you more in depth information about a specific topic that the news has chosen not to cover or simple didn't cover enough. Finally blogs can also help you find information about a specific topic in one place through filterblogs.
Yoani Sanchez takes full advantage of all the possibilities a blog offers through her blog Generacion Y. She blogs about her life in Cuba and has a very critical stance towards her government and how they treat the people. She posts videos about her daily activities and gives people an inside look into what life is like in Cuba. Cuba is a country where the government controls much of what mainstream media distribution so Yoani Sanchez's blog gives insight into questions that aren't asked by the mainstream media. In this sense she is taking advantage of the freedom blogs give you even though often times it is not easy for her to post something she still updates her blog constantly.
Blogs have a lot to offer but you should not rely solely on blogs for all your information because that could be doing an injustice to yourself. The reason is that if you break it down blogs are usually run by people who don't have an specific training in the news sector. So these are normal people like you and me. That is not to say that there isn't valuable information in blogs but you should try to back up the information found in a blog against a credible news source if possible. For example if your rely solely on Yoani Sanchez's blog for information about Cuba you will have a very specific idea of Cuba as a country. Because it is her blog she can write whatever she wants and she has chosen to use her blog to talk about issues that the Cuban government either ignores or doesn't represent the right way. Her blog paints the Cuban government in a negative light most of the time. I am not saying her blog should be ignored but you can not rely on her blog alone for information about Cuba especially if you don't know anything else about Cuba.
I think that blogs are good for the mainstream news because they can question them but at the same time you need the mainstream media as a credible source. Blogs are not going to go away so we have to learn how to use them correctly because they can be a huge asset in obtaining information.