Joe Powell credits bloggers, environmental activists, and affected residents with pushing this story onto the front page and into the national media spotlight.

Michael Silence says not so fast. While acknowledging a joint effort between mainstream media and bloggers, he says the KNS is "driving the bus."

I'm not so sure about that. The KNS is certainly on the bus doing some outstanding reporting, and it's apparent that they are the only area news operation with the resources and experienced reporters to do the in-depth coverage that's needed.

But my impression is that they were a little slow out of the gate and a little hesitant to call TVA out on the facts.

I first heard about the event at RoaneViews and their link to the initial Roane County News report.

I followed up with a post, updated it with a roundup of the initial local media reports which at the time were still repeating TVA's position that the fly ash contained "no hazardous materials."

I included links to reports showing how that was a total fabrication and how the handling of coal combustion byproducts is largely unregulated. This information made its way into the KNS a day or two later, by way of their business reporter of all people.

Next I questioned the advice to boil water being repeated by local media, and the KNS repeated this advice the next day before finally having to report days later that the EPA had found elevated levels of toxins (which boiling only makes worse) that could affect ground water and wells, advising people not to use spring or well water at all until more testing is done.

Later I ran across the inspection report, which clearly stated there were problems with the fly ash retaining pond dikes and that these problems were known to TVA. A couple of days later, the KNS did an in-depth story on the inspection report findings, with a good explanation of what it all meant.

And those are just my observations. Plenty of other bloggers were all over the story, including Joe Powell, Mike at Enclave, Southern Beale, and of course RoaneViews at ground zero.

Bloggers were even ahead of the New York Times. Christian Grantham at Nashville is Talking posted a link to an EPA inventory of all the toxins at the Kingston Steam Plant a day before the New York Times reported on it and two days before the KNS. (It should be noted that Christian is a pro blogger for WKRN in Nashville.)

Anyway, the point is not to criticize KNS or other local media. They are doing groundbreaking work and as I already mentioned they have the resources and contacts and credibility to do it right. Nor is the point to seek credit for bloggers for the work they have done and continue to do on the story.

The blogger advantage, though, appears to be strong google-fu, no editors, instant pushbutton publishing, and a healthy skepticism of public official spin and media reports of same.

Michael Silence argued previously that it's the media's job to report these PR brain farts straight and let the public decide. Probably so, but readers also need to be informed and armed with good information to be able to make that assessment. I'd say the local media is coming around to that, and I'd probably give bloggers a little more credit for pushing it.

And at the end of the day, it's an interesting look at the symbiotic media/blogger/citizen journalist dynamic, and how an army of smart bloggers complements rather than competes with mainstream media and actually makes them better.

Not that any of this matters to the residents of Swan Pond, who just want to know if their water is safe or whether they will ever be able to go home again.