Last Tuesday, the blogging community took the equivalent of “One small step for man.” In an unprecedented move, political blogger Joshua Micah Marshall, was awarded the George Polk Award for legal reporting for coverage of the firing of eight United States attorneys. Marshall’s investigative reports uncovered the fact that the dismissals were politically motivated and led to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Marshall, whose blog, Talking Points Memo (www.talkingpointsmemo.com), is the first Internet-only news operation to receive the Polk according to the New York Times. This award certainly solidifies his stronghold as the most influential political blogs on the net.

Although Marshall hardly resembles the “clichéd pajama-wearing, coffee-sipping” he is still one of ours. Yeah he has a Manhattan newsroom, seven site reporters and two Washington correspondents but his accomplishments only highlight what is possible for the aspiring and driven blogger.

Yet Mr. Marshall does not shy away from the notion of blogging. “I think of us as journalists; the medium we work in is blogging,” he told the New York Times. Something that can involve matters as varied as the tone of the writing or the display of articles in reverse chronological order. “We have kind of broken free of the model of discrete articles that have a beginning and end. Instead, there are an ongoing series of dispatches.”

For years bloggers have been denied press credentials cited instead as novice opinion riddled journalist. This accreditation provides vindication for our pursuit. Mainstream media no longer can be looked to as the sole source of trusted information. Sure blog information is only as good as its source but if this award is evidence of the validity of the eyes that are paying attention, much like the music industry news media may be in store for a complete overhaul.