Howard Reingold points out that discussion is part of news consumption – particularly around major events.
Some thoughts:
Major events are no longer dominated by TV on the day and print the day after. The extent to which media multi-tasking takes place is underestimated by the media industries. blogs and other online sources are already being used alongside live TV news.
Multi-taskers will – and are – consuming major news events through the major web sites, TV, blogs, IM and cell phones in tandem. These channels are not mutually exclusive other than at the point of origin. Content converges at the point of consumption, but not yet at the point of creation.