I've been doing some thinking lately about the trash in the media, and in response to last Wednesday's column "Columnist angry over media's priority," I think we should all reconsider our assumptions.

First, we think of the "mainstream media" as being the half-hour network TV shows (NBC, CNN), the major newspapers (New York Times) and some magazines (Time). In 2007 we're thinking this? The mainstream has moved onto computers, blogs and a zillion cable channels. We don't all watch the same news anymore - it's been divided up into the slices that we like. Liberals watch The Daily Show, conservatives listen to Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. The educated mainstream who is really interested in news has abandoned TV for more in-depth coverage that you can get on the Web. So who is left watching TV? The answer is those who are only casual observers of the news and those who are behind the times. The first group is the same group that watches Access: Hollywood.

I know this because that's what I used to watch, before I was forced to discover the Web and the library as part of my major. So, no Joe, you're not crazy. The "mainstream media" has turned into the tabloids for real -- because that is the only audience they have left.

So for columnists, stop wasting time complaining about the media and tell us some real news. If you want to find some of that, get Googling.