Gone are the days when a media executive decided what the public should or should not know about. Instead, the Internet has provided Bermudians with an alternative source for getting information.

Described as a rising format online, Blogs, short for web logs, particularly, are popular for political commentary for their ability for anyone to express their opinion, to a large audience, sometimes anonymously.

Politicians around the world have only recently started to utilise the power of the Internet to get their messages out to voters and supporters. This year, Bermuda political leaders have followed.

Nothing demonstrated this more than the announcement of the December 18 General Election by Premier Ewart Brown on the popular Internet video web site, YouTube.

Three young American masterminds created YouTube in 2005 as a video-sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips.

Now this innovative conception is undoubtedly the world's foremost multimedia source, free of charge, delivering everything from political messages to movie clips.

It was the first time in Bermuda's history that an election was announced via any such medium, and was seen by some as Dr. Brown's attempt to court the youth vote.

Recognising that voters under 30 turn to the Internet for their information, 23 of the candidates (13 PLP and ten UBP) have opened profiles on FaceBook, a popular social networking web site.

Blogger Christian Dunleavy operates Politics.bm, a popular and controversial web site. On it, he's known for bringing heat to political issues affecting the Island.

Mr. Dunleavy told this paper: "I started mine as a site for people who have an interest in politics, but particularly the mechanics of politics and the media.

"This has always been my interest — not to specifically influence who people vote for. Over time, it has evolved into more of a Government watchdog site combined with commentary."

He spoke of the effects blogs have on a society that has traditionally relied on newspapers, such as The Royal Gazette and TV news, as their primary information sources.

"¿(Political blogs) can have an affect by at times breaking news before the traditional media and covering angles that the traditional media haven't, as well as through more probing commentary and a range of views.

They also have a broader and around the clock reach.

"Do they change minds? I'm not sure. They certainly provide a lot of food for thought and are the way that younger politically interested Bermudians are initially engaging on the issues."

He spoke about an untapped resource that has proven effective in other countries but has yet to be utilised in Bermuda.

He explained: "The use of blogs for political organising either for specific issues or candidates have been successful for overseas blogs, but has yet to really take hold in Bermuda.

"I think some of that is tempered by the smallness of our island where personal communication still counts and always should.

"My readership, based on the feedback I receive, tends to be younger and therefore less interested in the historic political battles.

"They are not entrenched in the old political battles and are therefore more prone to vote by issue and performance than partisan loyalty, which mirrors me."

Mr. Dunleavy, who describes himself as a "political junkie" started Politics.bm in 2003 as a fun outlet for political analysis and thoughtful commentary, something he felt was missing in Bermuda.

For him, blogs are just a hobby. He works full time in the international business sector.

Another popular blog that has emerged recently is the PLP's ProgressiveMinds.bm web site, which is frequented by party supporters and people looking for a platform.

Mr. Dunleavy pulls no punches when he talks about the differences between his web site and the ProgressiveMinds blog.

"My site is personal and not run by any wing of a party," he explained. "I no longer read that site as they have allowed blatant defamation and censorship."

PLP chairman David Burt, also the brain behind the PLP's web presence, disagrees.

"Christian Dunleavy is an out-of-the-mainstream UBP partisan with a history of racial and cultural insensitivity," Mr. Burt alleged.

"The former UBP candidate (Mr. Dunleavy) and loyal party supporter once labelled a photo of two distinguished black people 'Brown Rice'.

"And he has refused to delete comments on his blog that made derogatory attacks against Deputy Premier Paula Cox.

"Unsurprisingly, Mr. Dunleavy, like so many in the UBP, strongly opposes Workforce Equity and all measures like it that will ensure that all Bermudians have an opportunity to succeed in our economy."

Mr. Burt was quick to emphasise the ProgressiveMinds blog is not unique and has received "hundreds of thousands" of hits.

"It's important to note that ProgressiveMinds isn't the only official PLP blog," he noted.

"There's also our PLP blog at www.plp.bm/blog where we post multiple blogs daily from the party as well as PLP leaders and candidates.

"Combined, both sites have received hundreds of thousands of hits, primarily from Bermudians of all backgrounds," he said.

"Both the PLP blog and ProgressiveMinds serve as a necessary balance to both pro-UBP blogs and biased mainstream media outlets."

Bermudian Richard Lathan, 50, whom friends describe as a technology buff, supported the idea of using the Internet as a news source, but warned that Internet sources were not regulated.

For the Keep Bermuda Beautiful director and former journalist, the Internet serves as a complement to the traditional print media such as this newspaper, which he points out, has an obligation to be fair in its reporting.

He said: "I don't do blogs that much. I get a lot of my news off of the Internet, particularly about litter and the environment, I check out the BBC news web site check out the BBC news web site daily.

"I buy a paper about three days a week but I'm on the website daily. With a blogger, they're not under any requirement to give a fair and balanced report.

"As opposed to The Royal Gazette as a professional news organisation that is obligated to provide balanced information. "I view bloggers as opinions and try to get The Royal Gazette to get the other side of the story."

As the use of the Internet as a primary multimedia source grows in popularity around the world, many people suggest that 20 years from now, traditional newspapers will be dead, with the web replacing them.

This is something Mr. Lathan hopes will not happen: "I hope that paper never dies, there's something very cool about being able to sit down, read a paper, without having to turn anything on or plug it in.

"There's also something nice about having a newspaper in your hand — and it's good for the environment."

Brenton Richardson, owner of BermyNet.com, Bermuda's number one entertainment website, said overseas Bermudian students researching political issues at home, rely almost exclusively on the Internet.

He pointed out: "You better believe the Internet matters! You can see the evidence everywhere all over the world.

"Bermudian Students, living abroad, are researching the issues as we speak and its from the only source of information available to them."

He spoke of the evolution of Internet sources alongside the mainstream media.

"Perhaps a few years ago we may have looked at an online source as untrustworthy, but now people may not pick up a paper or turn on the TV for days.

"There is much more trust between online sources and the user these days."

Noticeable on BermyNet are political ads. Yesterday a prominent paid ad from the United Bermuda Party could be seen.

The average age of Mr. Richardson's daily visitors is between 18 and 35, with most of them residing on Island.

"BermyNET.com enjoys visitors from all ages and all walks of life in Bermuda," Mr. Richardson added. "We started as a youth orientated site but that was eight years ago.

"Some of those people have grown up a bit since then.

"As with most media, we offer space for paid political advertisements. We've had discussions with both political parties regarding the use of our website to advertise in the past.

"At the end the day we think of ourselves as being an avenue for information no matter the political association."