Is blogging just a stepping-stone to working for the mainstream media? It is for quite a few bloggers, according to Newsday:

Think of the blogosphere as a teeming ocean, filled with thousands of amphibious creatures jumping for attention. Some are happy to be noticed by their aquatic buddies. Several are famous before they jump in. But quite a few long to leap out of the Web pool, to be recognized and rewarded by the world outside.

In the blogging world, that means getting on TV or radio, signing a book contract or being written about by - or writing for - a print magazine or newspaper. In other words, riding a fast current into what bloggers call MSM - mainstream media. ...

"Every so-called professional blogger I know wants to work for print," says Melissa Lafsky, 27, a lawyer whose popular blog at Opinionistas.com led to her finding a book agent, quitting her big law-firm job and starting a novel based on her blog. "There's still that desire for legitimacy. I'll admit it: I'll feel like a real writer when I have something published in print. 'Til then, I feel I'm faking it. Most bloggers I've talked to feel the same way."

That's a valid point but the increasingly synergistic -- perhaps even symbiotic -- relationship between the blogosphere and "old media" is actually much more complicated than that. Few bloggers who land book deals or other media gigs seem to actually "move on" from their blogs, which remain central to their fame and reputation. Think about it: how many celebrity "ex-bloggers" do you hear about? Meanwhile, quite a few people go the other way, leaving MSM for a new career in the blogosphere.

Then, there are the economic realities. After all, ya gotta make a living:

Book expert Jessa Crispin has also found entree to other jobs through her blog, at Bookslut.com. "Every freelance job I ever got was because of this blog," says Crispin, 27. She writes for magazines and newspapers and has appeared on TV in Chicago, where she lives. Several of her friends have written books based on their blogs, though, in contrast to attorney Lafsky, she doesn't attribute their doing so to a desire to be validated by MSM.

"It means you still can't make money on the Web. You have to take on freelance work to make the rent," says Crispin, who started her blog three years ago.

Still, the story notes, some who've soared to great heights in the blogosphere have rebuffed offers from old media. Crispin said she has turned away book publishers, not wanting to write a "disposable" work. And the creators of popular vlog Rocketboom have spurned offers from the TV industry -- but their shoestring operation could conceivably rake in millions in ad revenue.