As the trend of “citizen journalism” becomes more of a fact of life, the PR industry stands to benefit greatly, despite the challenges this new form of news gathering presents.

The first wave of this trend occurred with the rise of blogging. Back in October 2002, when we talked about pitching blogs as a new channel for communications, the weblog phenomenon had just begun. Now it seems almost everyone has one.

Or, to put an actual number to it, which the Pew Internet and American Life Project did in a report, 12 million people in the U.S. say they keep a blog. And 57 million people read them. And with the launch of CNN's Exchange, the cable news channel’s foray into “user-contributed and solicited news,” there will be an even greater shift in how news is disseminated and consumed.

Since only 34% of the bloggers surveyed said they consider themselves journalists, it’s important to refine a pitch meant for a reporter to a blogger’s individual needs.

The Pew study provides some insight into what animates most bloggers. Over three-quarters of the respondents said they use blogging as a means of self-expression more than a public endeavor. Reading the blog archives of the author can help to direct a story pitch to hit upon the “hot buttons” of the blogger and better target the writers who would be most likely to have an interest in your story.

Most bloggers also access news and information online at a higher level than most. Finally – and not surprisingly -- bloggers are more likely to get some of their news from email newsletters and RSS feeds than the general Internet population. A full 90% of them read others’ blogs – leading to the suggestion that a strong story can get “viral” legs through the blogosphere.