[The_Victor]

Hundreds of cable and radio commentators, and millions of bloggers, can sound off about the news in real time. But the number of old-fashioned fact-gatherers is dwindling,

Howard has his cause and effect backwards. The lack of "old fashioned fact gathering" reporters is the the cause of the explosion of the alternative media.

[Steve_Seattle]

"Hundreds of cable and radio commentators, and millions of bloggers, can sound off about the news in real time."

Notice the pejorative "sound off," as if it's not really news unless it comes from the NYT or Cronkite.

[lemura]

"old fashioned fact gathering"

There never was 'old fashioned fact gathering'. Prior to newspaper consolidation, there were multiple dailies in each major city. Each had specific political agendas tailored for their respective readership.

As it turns out, the short 20 year period of single newspaper coverage is coming to a close. Combined with the decline of broadcast media (after 40 years of dominance), represents a significant shift we are witenessing/participating each day.