It is also because of the higher expectations placed on mainstream periodicals. Reputation and credibility are huge assets to a mainstream periodical. Mainstream periodicals are scrutinized by rival periodicals and by their own readership through the "Letters to the Editor" section. Blogs face much less scrutiny because people do not rely on blogs for basic factual information. The expectations of a publication's audience are also important. Readers of a mainstream periodical will typically read the periodical as a matter of habit, of finding out what is going on for that day. Because of this, it is the periodical that will suggest to the reader what is important. Readers of a special interest blog, on the other hand, know what topic the special interest blog is covering and are usually visiting the blog to learn about that particular topic or to read about issues from a particular angle. In this way, readers of special interest blogs are much less open to suggestion.

Mainstream periodicals influence public perception both by selecting which events will become "topics." If no mainstream periodical in the nation decides to cover a particular event, the public will probably never know about it and it will not be considered a problem. Mainstream periodicals also set the boundaries of the debate by selecting which facts to include and which issues to highlight when they are relating news about current events. These are typically the facts, numbers, and statistics that everyone else will use when discussing the problem.

Special interest blogs influence public perception by interpreting events for their audience from a particular perspective. By doing this, they help their audience make sense of events which would usually require a lot of research and analysis to truly understand. Although special interest blogs are influential, they are not persuasive because they only appeal to readers who already agree with the blog's viewpoint. Conservative political blogs are usually not written to persuade liberal readers of a certain viewpoint.

Conclusion

Blogs are becoming more and more important as a form of mass media. However, the blogosphere has not yet developed a system to ensure the quality and accuracy...

This is where mainstream periodicals are still valuable and influential.
Bibliography

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Reynolds

Romer

Speak Now America

Speak Now America

Always on Watch

Always on Watch