The Eureka! transcendence of web media from traditional print media will never get old to certain people of a certain generation. Yet another generation will n

The Eureka! transcendence of web media from traditional print media will never get old to certain people of a certain generation. Yet another generation will never know what it was like any other way. Makes for interesting fodder for those of us on the "in between". If Sullivan were alive today, I'll bet he'd be encouraging journalists to study PHP and Javascript, to hone their video-cutting skills, and to learn how to manipulate databases. The cheap tools and affordable devices the average Joe has at his disposal to produce precision journalism and distribute it around the world are enough to make the reporters of yesterday sob in envy. It's the difference between digging ditches with a spade and excavating a canal with dynamite. Maybe it's that in the past, workers of journalism in journalistic publications were always held somewhat hostage by editors. Editors of mainstream publications usually sought certain slants on certain topics that would ultimately increase their bottom line: something awful happens? Divert attention to something less awful, but more do-good-feely; don't want to lose readers. Causes for families, or causes for certain political issues? Those are always good, since people are always seeking allegiance. In the past, small-town newspapers had only one front page, featuring what was usually one main topic of local interest; something non-global. The only really certain thing that web media does is narrow the gap between what small-town editors and writers seek to expose in an environment of expanding global-reach. Maybe it's that great editors seek to expose great writers; great writers seek to expose the truth sought out by great journalists. This article really brings to the front of the line the predicament of Laura Ling, Euna Lee, and others like them.