The Poynter Institute’s Steve Outing offers a thoughtful piece on what mainstream journalists can learn from bloggers. (Later this week he plans another installment that turns the tables, exploring lessons bloggers can learn from traditional journalism.)

Among the lessons for journalists:

• The best bloggers publish what they have, disclose what’s confirmed and what’s not, then let readers decide for themselves what’s important
• In some cases, it may make sense for mainstream media to release information they have rather than run it by experts, since experts exist among the audience
• News has become a conversation (just like The Cluetrain Manifesto’s marketplace): “The story doesn’t end when it’s published, but rather just gets started as the public begins to do its part—discussing the story, adding to it, and correcting it.”
• It’s possible—even desirable—for reporters to show some personality when reporting the news
• Bloggers own up to their errors

There’s more in the article—more lessons and plenty of interviews to support the assertions.