Kottke says that this account
Kottke says that this account by a passsenger on the shoebomber's plane is noteworthy because "it's a great example of journalism that just didn't happen before the Internet." While that is true (though when you think about it, yes, journalism on the Internet didn't happen before the Internet, true) I think that this is interesting as supplementary raw material, but the Times probably still has better access to more sources than one guy on the plane. And even so, the Times had pictures from a passenger on the plane yesterday, and even there you couldn't see much - Reid was in none of the pictures.
Stuff like this is interesting, but it's not about to replace regular journalism. Of course, if I lived in SF, where the newspapers are eminently in need of replacement, I might think otherwise. Often the history of any new media starts with a period where its adherents assert that all old media are imminently doomed; then as the medium matures and is assimilated, it takes its place in the media according to its own particular strength. I wonder what will someday come along to replace the tired old moribund Web.