BIGGEST STORY OF 2009

Great piece at the American Spectator by Jeffrey Lord. Yes, the MSM has been conspicuously absent on so many huge stories but in 2009, the void they left began getting filled by a virtual newsroom, consisting of bloggers, talk radio hosts, and a smattering of opinion shows on cable (Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, etc). ACORN, Van Jones, Climategate, et. al. The MSM dropped the ball beginning with the Obama ascendancy but the ball has been picked up.

If you doubt, ask ACORN. Or Van Jones. Or the So We Might See campaign. You won't need Time magazine's once clout-filled "Man of the Year" issue to figure it out, either. Just take a look back at the bestseller lists, the ratings of Fox News or simply turn on your local AM radio dial.

The single most important news event of 2009 was the emergence of The Virtual Newsroom. A newsroom run by a virtual army of conservative journalists famous and unknown, their individual and collective impact multiplied exponentially by millions of Internet users, radio listeners, readers and television viewers.

How did this happen? How does it work in practice?

First, perspective is needed here. Like other big news events, it didn't happen overnight. There is history, lots of it.

Be sure to read the WHOLE THING. For those who may be inclined to despair over a seemingly insurmountable media establishment and corrupt government, Lord provides some much needed - dare I say it - Hope.

h/t to AS