Blogs are the new, new media, covering topics from politics, sports and news, to art, fashion and the party scene. But the most notorious blogs focus on the foibles of the rich and famous.

Whether you want to know what Paris Hilton did last night, or whether Lindsay Lohan is in or out of AA, you're sure to find the information in cyberspace.

They're full of fashion faux pas, hilarious commentaries on celeb partying, and with more than we need to know about the Pam Anderson/Kid Rock divorce proceedings.

So what is driving this fascination? Elaine "Lainey" Lui, eTalk correspondent and purveyor of Laineygossip.com, says the immediacy of the information is important. And, she says people are drawn to blogs by the desire for a version of events not filtered through a publicist.

"People are becoming savvy to the fact that what they're reading in many of the mainstream magazines is often information sanctioned by the celebrities themselves... in the blog world, we don't have any obligations to film studios or publicists or promoters."

Trent Vanegas, the man behind PinkisthenewBlog.com, agrees. He says it's the unfiltered nature of blogs that is making them so popular.

"I think that people get a kick out of seeing how the other half lives -- and sometimes it's not a pretty picture. People have always been intrigued by the lifestyles of the rich and famous, but now blogs are able to report on those lifestyles without a filter."

One expert thinks it goes even deeper, and the fascination with celebrity has become a uniting force in popular culture.

Professor Robert Thompson teaches at the Center for the Study of Pop Culture at Syracuse University. He believes that as our culture has become increasingly fragmented, big-name celebrities have become a cultural core that everybody shares.

"It used to be that we all shared a certain degree of culture, back before cable television, and when relatively few musical acts dominated the radio waves, we fed from the same cultural trough...but with cable TV and in the last couple of years with the internet, culture has fragmented into thousands of pieces...but celebrities seem to unite us all."

He adds that although we may not like certain celebs, or even be familiar with their work, we know who they are.

So even if you've never watched "The Simple Life" or listened to her so-called music, you still know who Paris Hilton is.

Celebrities behaving badly

Recent stories dominating the celebrity gossip pages have included: Britney Spears going out underwear-free, Lindsay Lohan attending Alcoholics Anonymous, Nicole Richie being charged with DUI, anything Brangelina and everything TomKat.

Both Lui and Vanegas say that while some bloggers may report events for the sensationalism, most are simply able to tell more of the truth. They are not worried, as mainstream media might be, about angering publicists and losing access to celebrities.

Lui says, "I do think it's changing the way [People Magazine's] audience is looking at them. I have readers write to me and say...'I'm laughing half the time when I read it' because they're very
publicist-friendly.  They don't post the rumours, they only print the sanctioned report...just because they want to be nice to the celebrities."

People bookmark blogs not only for the speedy scoop, but the style.

Each blogger has a distinctive editorial voice and graphic design. Blogs tend to become known for a particular kind of information, whether it's breaking original stories, repurposing content from other sources or simply snarky commentary.

Thompson says, "They're all over the place, the spread, you almost need a zoologist to do a taxonomy of blogs. If you're looking at the edges of the blogs, there are some that are snarky, and downright mean, and the bar on that seems to be getting lower and lower, and others that are really scary in their adoration."

Vanegas says there are definitely some out there that are mean. "It's no surprise that shock value has attention garnering merit."

Blogs as newsmakers?

That "shock value" has drawn the attention of mainstream media, which is fighting to stay as up-to-date as the blogger next door, and to not get scooped on the big stories.

Thompson says that traditional news organizations often feel the need to break stories immediately, so they won't lose out to the instantaneous nature of blogs.

Lui says that while she tries to confirm stories with multiple sources, and won't print stories that seem ludicrous just for the shock factor, she doesn't consider herself a journalist.

"I think blogging is more about editorial than it is about reporting, on any blog. Even though Perez (Hilton, a popular blogger) breaks news everyday, even though I break exclusives from time to time...we are also all editorializing on other stories we didn't break that other people reported on and we are just adding our thoughts to it."

Vanegas also sees himself as a commentator, not a journalist, but admits "there are other sites who take it upon themselves to 'report news.' The Internet has really blurred the line between what is journalism and what is fandom."

And therein lies a big debate. In theory, at any journalistic establishment, you'll find people who fill the job position of fact-checker and copy editor and managing editor.  So, when the mainstream sites, racing to stay a step ahead, report a story from a blog without confirming it, they are taking a big risk.

"They just report it, and some get around it by saying, 'This blog said,' or 'In an unconfirmed report,'" Thompson says. "But it's unconscionable to source an anonymous blog without knowing who said it, because we know there's a lot of stuff said in blogs that isn't true, sometimes really not true."

Good for fans, good for celebrities...

Blogs are obviously giving fans what they want (as the growing number of visitors and advertising dollars seem to indicate), but what impact are they having on the celebrities?

"I contend that blogs are good for celebrities. Even the celeb-skewering can be seen as a positive because the celebrities are getting the attention that they desperately require. There's no such thing as 'bad press,'" Vanegas says.

Thompson agrees, but only in part. He says that for the most part blogs work for celebrities. "Britney (Spears) plus an underwearless picture is fine, it doesn't hurt her reputation. It might have if she was still a Mouseketeer, but not anymore...it just confirms that we still care about Britney."

But he also believes that stories can still be damaging, and he cites the racist rant by comedian Michael Richards that was caught on video, and posted to YouTube, as a prime example.

Lui takes a more philosophical perspective. "People have asked me, 'Don't you think it's mean to say these things about celebrities?' And I say no...It's dirty, it's smutty, it's fun, but at the same time blogs are reaching a lot of people who were pretty naïve as to what goes on in Hollywood, and therefore really believed that was a standard way of life and perfection, and I think blogs have been able to tear down the illusion."