It is without a doubt that the face of journalism is ever-changing. From the start of the newspaper in 1690 to the revolutionary technology of the Internet in the 90s, the way with which we cover and obtain the news has been power-boosted, digitized and morphed in more ways than we can count.

From dailies to weeklies, and all the glossy monthly magazines in between, readers can pick and choose which niche fits them best. And whether it's politics, lifestyle, arts and entertainment, gossip or celebrity news -- it's out there and being covered.

But what happens when mainstream sources aren't enough? When comment sections and reader feedback just don't cut it in regard to communication between the readers and the reporters? What's the next step?

Well in Richmond at least, there are a handful of people who have definitely and passed that "next step" and are continuing to create waves all over the city and beyond.

Those people, are our bloggers.

But I'm not talking about the thousands of Richmonders logged onto MySpace who one day decide to jot down their summer vacation plans for the ten readers who will maybe glance at it. I'm talking about the down-and-dirty, straight-to-the-point, citizen journalists we have taking over the Richmond Web scene.

Terry Rea, creator the Fan District Hub, published a report back on April 5, sent in from Jeff South, Associate Professor in the School of Mass Communication at Virginia Commonwealth University.

South was in the midst of listening to a presentation on participatory media during "Media Re:Public" a conference convened by the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society when he learned that Richmond "by far and away…ranked No. 1 for citizen journalism Web sites."

Sixteen citizen journalism Web sites exist in Richmond, including Rea's Fan District Hub, Richmond community blog pioneer John Murden's Church Hill People's News, Hills & Heights¸ RiverCityRapids¸ Petersburg People's News, River District News and that of the Richmond community site aggregator, RVANews, headed up by Ross Catrow.

The names mentioned above are some mainstream journalists that readers won't soon want to forget.

If South's report is any indication of the future, blogs could quite possibly change the face of journalism once again (if they haven't already) and become a force mainstream media will be forced to reckon with.

Now, we here at Richmond.com located in mainstream mania aren't saying the idea of the blog or the content and activity of our Richmond bloggers has suddenly hit us like a lightening bolt – we know you've been here.

We just think it's about time we take that knowledge and make it public.

• The second half of Richmond.com's "A Hotbed of Citizen Journalism" will be published next Thursday, May 15. We'll offer you a closer look at what the rise in citizen journalism could mean for media outlets in Richmond and just who's responsible for it.