Since we first discussed pitching blogs in October 2002, the medium has moved mainstream. A recent Marketwatch survey of journalists shows that now many news stories originate or are materially affected by blog entries.

The survey is part of an ongoing research project by Marketwire to understand the impact that social media and blogs are having on news delivery. The online survey was conducted among a random sample of North American reporters and editors, and was focused on understanding how social media and blogs influence their work.

The survey found that:

• Blogs are a regular source for journalists. Over three quarters of reporters see blogs as helpful in giving them story ideas, story angles and insight into the tone of an issue.

• Nearly 70 percent of all reporters check a blog list on a regular basis. More than one in five (20.9 percent) reporters said they spend over an hour per day reading blogs. And a total of nearly three in five (57.1 percent) reporters said they read blogs at least two to three times a week.

• Journalists are increasingly active participants in the blogosphere. One in four reporters (27.7 percent) have their own blogs and nearly one in five (16.3 percent) have their own social networking page. About half of reporters (47.5 percent) say they are "lurkers" -- reading blogs but rarely commenting.

• The majority of journalists thought blogs were having a significant impact on news reporting in all areas tested except in the area of news quality. The biggest impact has been in speed and availability of news. Over half said that blogs were having a significant impact on the "tone" (61.8 percent) and "editorial direction" (51.1 percent) of news reporting.

If you are not actively working the blogosphere and social networking sites, you may be missing some excellent opportunities to connect with journalists that would otherwise be impossible to contact.