Can a blog really replace a newspaper?

In doing some research for a class paper I came across an article on this website: www.paulgraham.com, entitled 'The Submarine'. Its premise is that PR is like a submarine lurking huge and quiet beneath the news. One particular point the author makes is that
readers subconsciously trust bloggers more than mainstream media sources because there is supposedly no agenda or motive behind that person's 'rant of the day'. Hmmmm. Interesting. Although I doubt its true.

But with all the talk about the disappearance of the physical newspaper, it does make one wonder whether readers want stories that have been strategically placed (i.e. by PR and publicity people) or strategically chosen (by newspaper editors) or if they prefer to just go to the web and find those stories that express viewpoints with which they agree (selective exposure theory). Are readers really that critical nowadays that they question the honesty and motive behind a newspaper article and so it sends them running to the internet for 'honest' writing?

If so, then PR folks should be focusing on touting the merits of online exposure to their clients and explaining to them that the traditional newspaper placement just won't cut it in this day and age. In fact, the Pew Research Center recently released information showing that the internet has surpassed all other media except television as an outlet for national and international news. *gasp* Betcha didn't see that one coming :-) But seriously, where does that leave PR? As I prepare to jump back into the workforce after school, I'm realizing that yes, PR is still about relationships but without a basic understanding of how to utilize social media tools, then you're useless to your client in this crazy world where nobody reads the paper anymore! Sorry I had to break it to you this way :)