I really think that the Washington Post understands that there doesn’t have to be an adversarial relationship between the bloggers and the news media. We bring something to the table with our critic, it’s not just one sided. It’s hard to see biases and presuppositions and when others see it, and point it out there should be examination of the criticism for truth. I think that maybe the Washington Post may be on the path to realizing that, at least the editor seems to be getting it:

And the blogs that pick apart every article that the Post produces are a good thing, said Downie, because they “keep the paper honest” and, even if their commentary isn’t positive, bring people to the site.
“Blogs are not competitors and not problems,” he said. “Instead we have a very interesting symbiotic relationship. Our largest driver of traffic is Matt Drudge.”
While it’s true that competition for print media has increased tremendously due to the Web, the Washington Post’s overall audience has now become huge compared to what it once was, Downie added. And instead of weakening the paper’s brand, as he said it was feared, it has strengthened it and made the Washington Post well known around the world.

Drudge is the biggest pusher of the news media, it’s about time these people give him props and the recognition that he deserves. He has probably generated more online revenue for them then all the blogs combined. If I were them, I’d be sending him some cash and some nice gifts.
One of the smartest things that the Washington Post does is put a link in the articles to blogs that link to it using Technorati. I go to the Post first looking for stories because I know that it will bring hits to my site. That doesn’t happen when I link to the Times or Yahoo News. Pretty savy of them, don’t you think?
(Link via Drudge Report, of course 🙂