I gotta tell ya, the very fact that a major news wire carries a story with a headline like this--"Study: Blogs haven't displaced media"--and that Pew and all those guys spent all that time analyzing this topic--is just another sign of how powerful an influence blogs are becoming.

The study contrasted the influence of blogs as compared to mainstream media outlets on the recent U.S. presidential race. (I am very proud to note--being a long-time blogger, I somehow feel I have a personal stake in the blogworld--that bloggers spent a lot less time talking about somebody's lesbian daughter than did the mainstreamers. Probably because we don't have to sell any newspapers...)

Other discoveries: 8 of 10 journalists read blogs; bloggers act as guides for the mainstream media to the rest of the Intern; 43 percent of the public says the press has too much freedom; 6 in 10 people feel the media shows bias in reporting the news; 20% said the government should be allowed to censor the press.

Oh, and the best: 85% of journalists believe in free speech protections, but 75% of them don't think bloggers are journalists because they don't follow "commonly held ethical standards."

I don't know about you, but to me that statement reeks of "Methinks thou doth protest too much."