Over the past year or so, we've seen a number of instances in which China-focused blogs appear to have had a substantial impact on the international news media's coverage of China. A couple of examples are Roland Soong's ESWN on the Foxconn and Taishi Village stories, Jeremy Goldkorn's Danwei on "Ayigate," etc. There are many more.

A lot of bloggers feel that the blogosphere isn't getting nearly enough credit for the work they're doing - and for the leg up that many journalists may be getting from that work.

So.  It's time to gather some comprehensive data about just how journalistically influential the Sino-blogosphere has become. 

Want to help me out?

If you are a journalist who covers China, please click here to take a survey about the extent to which you use blogs as part of your story research.

If you are a blogger or connoiseur of Chinese-language blogs or China-related blogs, I would love to know any concrete examples you might have of how specific blogs appear to have influenced foreign (i.e. non-PRC) media coverage on specific China-related stories.  Please hit the comments section of this post and let me know. The more specifics, the more links, the better.  If you have any examples of people who have lifted material from Chinese blogs or China-related blogs without giving credit, please by all means help me collect those examples. I am happy to quote and credit you if you'd like, or keep you anonymous if you'd like. Let me know if you'd like to be interviewed further about how your blog influenced a particular story. I figure that this information is best gathered through an open comments thread because it will benefit from the discussion. But if you have anything you'd like to tell me privately please feel free to e-mail me. (Click on the e-mail link on the upper left-hand corner of this page.)

(Also, if you are a Chinese-language blogger, please take this Chinese-language survey being conducted by some friends of mine.)

If anybody out there has any further ideas, theories, views, rants, or anything else to say related to the ways in which blogs are impacting the international media's coverage of China, please by all means hit the comments section!! Don't be shy!!