World Press Freedom Day

Many contrasts exist in reporting today, as many journalists have been facing death and kidnapping in the Mideast, riots ensued after some calculated propaganda regarding the publication of cartoons, and the ever-expanding and seemingly endless arrival of new web logs every hour. Some may write of recipes or lifestyles, some provide commentary on what they read elsewhere, and some sites offer wide ranges of information from hundreds of blogroll members.

A recent study notes some of the newer trends regarding "trust" in the media, including the following:

"News sources:

• Almost three-quarters of people (72%) said they followed the news closely every day, with national TV (82%) and national or regional newspapers (75%) the most trusted news outlets, according to the poll.
• Online news sources were the first choice among 19% of 18-24 year-olds, compared to just 3% of those aged 55-64.
• Some 77% prefer to check several news sources rather than simply rely on one, a habit particularly evident online.
• Blogs:
• Blogs are among the online sources that people are consulting, although few place ultimate trust in their content: 25% said they trusted blogs, with almost the same number (23%) distrusting them.
• Just 3% of all respondents said blogs were their main news source. The only exception to this trend was in South Korea (17%), where online news is highly popular.
• Younger web brands were also shown to have won significant public trust: Google (30%), Yahoo! (28%) and Microsoft/MSN (27%).

Here's to ever-growing freedoms worlwide and more and more individuals expressing their views via the internet.