They're really watching us...

Yesterday was somewhat newsworthy for the first press conference by Barack Obama, but what was significantly more important is that he took a question from Sam Stein.

As the New York Times reported, Sam Stein is a reporter for The Huffington Post, and may go down in history for being one of the first blog reporters to ask a question during a network televised press conference with the president. It's a huge moment for the legitimacy of new media...but not the first in this venue.

My co-worker Devon Sayers would be quick to point out that, though his question may have been heard round the world, it was Politico who made the first real dent in that glass ceiling.

There are two main seating areas for the daily news conferences, one for the mainstream media outlets (the room you see the press secretary, or their designate, speaking to every weekday - seen on the left) and a second overflow room. Politico just last year became the first media outlet that exists solely on the web to get a seat in the main daily briefing room.

That said, the continued evolution of online-only properties as a legitimate news source is a fascinating trend. In local news, the generally-accepted belief is that people under the age of 35 don't care about local news. The average age of network news viewers is in the 50s or 60s...will the upcoming generation of news consumers develop to embrace solely online content? And, if so, what does that mean for the traditional media outlets?