Embattled NC State athletics director Lee Fowler made this acknowledgment, when asked by NC State’s Technician what was the biggest issue facing NC State athletics:

It’s probably the message boards on the Internet. There is so much negative stuff coming off the boards, and I think that drives the newspapers. Then the papers are constantly chasing stuff that’s being talked about on the Internet. But I think that’s the biggest challenge facing all ADs.

In political reporting, the papers are constantly ignoring or (when that doesn’t work) angrily denouncing stuff that’s being talked about on the Internet.