So this is a little morbid, but the recent demise of Anna Nicole is a really good case study, I think, to show the effectiveness of blogs as a source of news. Within moments of her death, the news had already reached the blogosphere, and there have been consistent and constant updates since. In a matter of hours we have headlines going from "Anna Nicole Rushed To The Hospital" to "Anna Nicole Smith Likely Dead" to "It's Official: Anna Nicole Smith Is Dead" to ones questioning what will happen to her daughter to ones asking about whether she overdosed. There's even footage leaked of her being taken in a stretcher to the hostpital (I'm not going to link to it...).