research questions revisited

second attempt at forming my research questions. last time i tried with only one question and a bullet list. it seems to be better to stick to questions, so here goes:

1. how has mainstream media (MSM) developed overall since ~1998? (popularity, influence)
2. how have blogs developed since their ascent in ~1998? (popularity, influence)
3. how do the overall developments compare? can any interactions be found?
4. how has the influence of MSM on elections developed since ~1998?
5. how has the influence of blogs on elections developed since ~1998?
6. how does the development of the influence on elections compare? can any interactions be found?
7. can any predictions be made on the influence of blogs on elections in the future, especially for the UK and DE?

(questions 1-6 will focus on the US; i will however compare with the UK and DE as appropriate)

again, look at the matrix to see how i got here.

now, re the method: i will rely on precompiled data regarding readership numbers of newspapers, viewer numbers of tv broadcasts, etc. due to the possibility of MSM and blogs being biased towards themselves, i will try to obtain data from various sources to paint as objective a picture as possible. to round things off, i hope to be able to present some individual views from members of both MSM and blogs, and from politicians.