Laughing Wolf has a long, but interesting post on the state of journalism at the end of 2003.

(I'm leaving the same comment here that I left over there.)

I encourage analysis of journalism, whether Old Media or self-published, as a process; see the Deming process workbench (287 kB *.pdf; "Deming Overview" on page 3 of 49) for an excellent framework. In particular, Old Media and self-publishing have very different entrance criteria, standards, and exit criteria.

This is not altogether to the advantage of self-publishing. Few bloggers have any better critical thinking skills, knowledge of economics, or mathematical ability than mainstream journalists. Blogging is often, to borrow a phrase from Orwell, "a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia." But the best bloggers consistently outperform mainstream journalism in their areas of expertise. You're one of them.