I liked how Hindman points out that there is a distinction between speaking and being heard. I think that just because more people may be blogging about politics, that doesn’t necessarily mean that others are listening. If people are listening, how can anyone be sure what’s being read, heard, or seen is also being seriously considered? I think that when it comes down to it, people will still value the sources they have always turned to for political information. The sources they know are reliable, that they have trusted in the past. After all, it’s not like these people are looking to buy a book off of Amazon and seriously considering the reviews from anyone before they make the plunge; these people are voting for the President or considering a potential view that could seriously impact their lives. I hope they wouldn’t base their opinions solely off of what any Joe Shmo says.
Ultimately, I think people will look to shows like the O’Reilly Factor, Hard Ball, Face the Nation, and Larry King Live for their sources of information. They will look to magazines like Time, newspapers like The New York Times, and radio stations like NPR for political education. People know these are reliable, they know they can trust them, and they know that while the information may be somewhat bias, it is still, for the most part, accurate.