The Blogosphere, In Reruns

So, it looks like blogs are going the way of the classic sitcom – syndication! The Associated Press reports that starting today, a syndication service called BlogBurst will provide content from hundreds of blogs for use by none other than the sworn enemy of the blogosphere – newspaper publishers. According to the AP, the service has so far signed up Gannett Co., The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Austin American-Statesman and The San Antonio Express, all of whom "are looking to BlogBurst to provide expert blog commentary on travel, women's issues, technology, food, entertainment and local stories, areas where publishers may not have dedicated staff," according to the CEO of the blog technology company providing the service. "In return, a select group of popular bloggers are offered wider distribution for their writings, he said. The online syndicate drives traffic to blog sites, allowing featured bloggers to make money from resulting online advertising fees."

AP adds an interesting tidbit here:

BlogBurst has its own staff to review and edit blogs, in effect accrediting them for newspaper publishers and thereby addressing issues of quality control that have often poisoned relations between mainstream media and bloggers.