Do citizen journalists provide a more diverse source of media?

My boyfriend is a political junkie and reads a lot of political blogs. He claims that the only major media program he watches for news is the News Hour with Jim Lehrer. He thinks that all the other major networks clutter their news with unsupported and biased analysis. He wants the facts and he wants to make the interpretation himself.

I can see why he's frustrated. But his solution is turning to online blogs because he feels that bloggers, while giving their opinion gives a more unbiased fact based analysis because they are not profit driven. I would like to agree but fundamentally I just don't think he is correct.

First of all, many blogs are profit driven, though its a smaller bottom line. But I find it hard to distinguish writing that is experience based in comparison to readership driven. Who's to say bloggers don't write what they think readers want to hear?

Second, I feel that as a blog reader you tend to read things that reflect your way of thinking. In this way, you aren't accessing a more diverse source for your news. So then are you benefiting from relying on blogs for information?

Finally, I think my boyfriend believes that the blogs he reads are so much better than network news because he reads blogs that reflects his opinions and views on life. I wonder if he would think as highly of a blog source if it provided opinions contradictory to his.

I guess the only factor that makes blogs more "real/true" is the fact that there is so much competition out there bloggers have to provide good, fact based analysis or else they won't get much readership.