News Sites Team with Blog Search Vendors

Two partnership announcements last week signal a big change for traditional news sites as blog search vendors enter the mainstream. First, Time.com reported it has partnered with Sphere to offer links to blogs that tie back its content. In a similar deal, The Associated Press has teamed with Technorati to offer readers blog links that match the stories on its site. This is a huge step toward letting the general public gain easy access to what many call "citizen jounalism." Greg Sandoval of CNET confirms this media shift in his piece this morning as does Jessica Vascellaro of the Wall Street Journal in her article. Expect to see more of these mixed-media deals in the future as online news outlets try to find ways to integrate blogs into their content for added value and perspecitve.