Actually, that’s an aspect of the “blogosphere” we’re not mentioning explicitly, and that we should mention explicitly.

In this case the bloggers have contributed directly & materially (correct term) to the story by way of their knowledge of fonts & desktop publishing.

But under any circumstances bloggers contribute to a story by way of links that can direct attention to better journalism.

Before bloggers & the internet, my husband would not have read WAPO’s coverage of the Swifties, which made all the difference in the world to him.

Nor would he have read WAPO’s coverage of Rathergate.

The internet reduces the local monopolies held by the large newspapers.