According to the Online Journalism Review, news outlets such as the Wall Street Journal have started courting bloggers, sending out press releases and encouraging them to link to free news content.

“Many traditional journalists have come to see blogging as an either-or proposition — you’re either a blogger or you’re a conventional reporter or columnist,” [Bill Grueskin, managing editor of WSJ.com] told me via e-mail. “I see blogging as a nascent phenomenon that is a threat to journalism only to editors who treat it as such. I think the key is finding ways in which we can each do what we’re best at, and look for ways to cooperate. Truth is, bloggers depend a great deal on traditional media. But, I’m coming to find, we can depend on them.”

Marvellous! At last, we’re moving into more productive territory where bloggers and journalists (and some bloggers who are journalists) can benefit from each other’s strengths instead of attempting to draw lines in the sand.