"This is journalism. Raw, unedited, but still journalism," said Jonathan Dube, MSNBC.com managing producer and publisher of CyberJournalist.net, a site that tracks the impact of Web logs on journalism.

"Hearing about individual experiences directly from the people who survived the tsunami offered readers a different, more personal perspective on the human side of the tragedy than most of the articles published by news organizations."

....Reportage was not the only function of blogs nor perhaps the most important.

"The more interesting and useful way the Internet has been used is to share information about relief efforts and to help people connect with missing family members," Dube said.

"For example, a dozen Indian bloggers launched an excellent group blog called The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog, posting news tidbits and information about resources, aid, donations, and volunteer efforts. It has attracted readers from around the world�people in the region who need help, people elsewhere interested in helping out, and journalists."

....Newspapers and broadcasters in India, the United Kingdom, Canada, and South Africa were among the media that published or aired images that they had been duped into thinking were of the actual tsunami. The images�showing a colossal wave looming over people�were actually photographs of a tidal bore (a wall of water that travels up some rivers during high tide). The pictures were apparently taken in China in 2002.

The incidents illustrate a growing problem for traditional media outlets trying to match the speed and immediacy of the "blogosphere."