The likes of Mr. Coulter see only one currency....$. There are others. To suggest that the Grey Lady and her ilk are necessarily better because they have paid staff is, at best, a weak reed. It has no more prima facie validity than the equally juvenile, "..blogs are best because they are free."

The best sources of information are in the category of best for a number of reasons:

1. They know the subject matter
2. They can communicate clearly
3. They are open and honest with their readers

None of the three qualifications have anything to do with the nature of the currency that you pay to read their scribblings. It could be money. It could be the time that it takes to go through open ended web searches. It could be the time that you owe to your child for doing the web search for you.

"Webpistemology" or how we know what we know on the web puts the burden on the reader in a one way dialog, and on the community in a dialog. External authority has been removed from the equation, and I suspect that it is that lack of external validation that makes people the most uncomfortable.

Tough. It's the price we pay for a much richer choice of resources.