Richard Edelman, head of one of the largest PR agencies, is paying close attention to blogging and has an excellent post on some of April's NYC blog-related events, including the Reuters panel and the Page Society conference. The big takeaways for him are that blogs are interactive, personalized, and carry the weight of personal recommendation, a very powerful tool.
His advice to PR trying to figure out the form is useful to everyone looking at DIY content and grassroots journalism: " We have to be operating in parallel universes, continuing to do a great job with traditional media, while engaging with new media. We should help our clients create original content, and advise them to engender conversations on-line but be honest about our inability to control outcomes. We must be on top of the breaking news in companies, because news is being filled by the person who has the newest information. The coverage of tsunami initially came from survivors with cell phones or mini-cams, and delivered across the Web. Our tone in new media must reflect the different expectations of the audience, which is to demand authenticity, individuality and transparency."