Who are bloggers?

In the Huffington Post today, Hisham Wyne writes about the confusion of bloggers' roles in the media. Wyne asks, "Are we mere individuals, exercising our right to free speech? Or serving in a larger reserve corps of citizen journalist, doing the menial chores mainstream fleet streeters black at, breaking community stories and spotlighting abuses that may otherwise be ignored?" As individuals or journalists, bloggers can sometimes fail to give accurate information. Without editors and other journalists proofing the stories, bloggers can run too far with opinions. Because bloggers exercise their freedom of expression, "salaciousness, fabrication, and mendacity" are inevitable from time to time. Although bloggers give extensive information and investigate into political issues, are they valid sources to follow? On one hand, their transparency is a breath of fresh air in journalism, yet their individualism may inaccurately provide a clear story because of their subjective voices.