Internet Information: A Giant Garden of Knowledge or Sieve of Lies?

As I sit down in front of the computer and log on to the internet I have just opened a door of unlimited search possibilities. Whatever my question of the day is or the breaking news story that I need to get the latest information on, I can find my answers on the internet. But have we reached a point where we totally rely on the internet for our information and is the information even reliable?
Personally, I’m about 50/50 in terms of relying on tradition media and the internet to get my information. I would say I get most of my everyday news from the newspaper, television and radio. I turn to the internet to get the latest breaking story or to read further about a topic that I saw on the nightly news. I would say most of my classmates approach the internet as an information resource the same way I do. But as our daily lives change and become more dependent on technology I believe the internet and portable electronic devices like cell phones will become the primary source for news and information. With that being said, can we trust the electronic media as a credible source?
When obtaining news and information from electronic devices I think you first must consider the source before you read the message. I think you have to read information from electronic sources with a skeptical eye as the message you are reading my not be totally factual. One of my classmates, Rafal Kowalczyk, has run into this problem.
“There were many times that I checked information online and then re-checked again few hours later and noticed the story was either changed or taken off the site,” stated Kowalczyk.
Since the internet is such a speed driven environment, news gathering organizations are constantly pushing to break stories as they happen and update old ones as new information is available. However, this information may not be also accurate. It is one thing to be the first to have the story out there, but if the facts aren’t correct then there is no prize for being first. But it begs the question then, in this environment where news is constantly changing and mistakes happen, is it then an acceptable element of the operation that not all facts will be correct and if they’re not they will be updated when better information comes along? Electronic media has a huge advantage over print in the fact that they can make corrections instantaneously, while papers have to wait till the next day to rectify any mistakes. Has this power been taken advantage of? I hope not.
With that said, I do believe there are plenty of sites that are credible and do uphold the highest journalistic standards. Nobody is perfect and mistakes will happen, I just don’t think mistakes should become an acceptable part of the culture.