So where do we go from here?

Recently, the Project on Excellence in Journalism released the "State of the News Media 2008" report. They confirmed what anything with a pulse already knew, media is changing. Unlike most people though, they believe that this change is not necessarily for the best. One of the most significant findings in the report is that news is no longer a final information product.

"There is no single or finished news product anymore," the report says. "As news consumption becomes continual, more new effort is put into producing incremental updates, as brief as 40-character e-mails sent from reporters directly to consumers without editing."

The new report also hinted at some of the flaws of citizen journalism. The report focuses on citizen journalists as "gatekeepers," a title that was once held by mainstream media. "Rather than rejecting the 'gatekeeper' role of traditional journalism, for now citizen journalists and bloggers appear to be recreating it in other places," the report says.

On the contrary, the report mentioned how news organizations are narrowing their focus rather than expanding it. The report suggested that cites like Google News reward those organizations that report the same thing as everyone else.

"Cable news, talk radio (and also blogs) tend to seize on top stories (often polarizing ones) and amplify them," the report says. "The Internet offers the promise of aggregating ever more sources, but its value still depends on what those originating sources are providing. Even as the media world has fragmented into more outlets and options, reporting resources have shrunk."