The Internet has had a profound effect on the media. Many people now have the ability to access their local newspaper online, and -- a big bonus over print media -- the ability to access newspapers from across the nation, even around the world. In fact, as I write this, I'm simultaneously watching election results roll in on the Boston Globe, Arizona Republic, the Dallas Morning News, and MSNBC. The opportunity to access such broad sources of information simply didn't exist before the web brought the far reaches of the globe to our fingertips mere moments after, for instance, the election results are reported. Citizens living before the dawn of the Internet age had to wait days to learn whether the Dems had in fact retained control of the Senate.
Blogging has also had a far-reaching effect on the media. No longer are professional news organizations the end-all, be-all of news; citizens now have the option of tuning into ordinary citizens who were physically there as the news broke and blogged about it later. Twitter feeds and Facebook postings have a similar effect; we no longer have to wait until we get home and turn on the television to find out what events happened around the world that day. With Internet-enabled cellular phones, this generation is always connected -- and that's just the way we like it.
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