If legendary journalist H.L. Mencken was alive today and just starting out, what would he do?

Would he try working his way up the ladder in the newspaper business? Or would he, instead, work for himself and start blogging?

Maybe this is one of those pointless mental exercises, but it provides the chance to look at the real difference today between newspapers and blogs. It provides the chance to figure out who are the real keepers of the legacy of men like Benjamin Franklin and Mencken.

It was Mencken who said the job of a newspaper is to �comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.� But who�s really doing that now? Bloggers or newspapers?

First let�s take a look at the gold standard of American journalism: The Pulitzer Prize.

Last year, the New York Times and PBS� Frontline collaborated on a piece that ran in print and on TV. (You can read it here.) It�s hard to argue against this piece winning the Pulitzer. The examination of how a large, profitable corporation � McWane Inc. - paid such little regard to its workers� well-being has all the elements of what in-depth journalism should be. The paper gave it time, resources and space. The writing is compelling and flows. It absolutely comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable:

In the last decade, many American corporations have embraced such a vision of capitalism � cutting costs, laying off workers and pressing those who remain to labor harder, longer and more efficiently. But top federal and state regulators say McWane has taken this idea to the extreme. Describing the company's business, they use the words "lawless" and "rogue."

The company's managers call it "the McWane way."

Only the people involved in crafting this story know how long it took to put those four sentences together. A good bet: a very long time.

It�s journalism like this that inspires kids in high school and college to get into the business. But is it the exception or the rule? It�s probably not quite either. Here are some more examples of great journalism. Each one of these stories and series must have taken a grueling effort. When you work for an organization with deep pockets, libel lawsuits are always an issue � more so when you�re exposing wrongdoing, corruption or human suffering. You want to make sure you don�t get sued. But these reporters also want to get it right.

It�s easy to rip �MSM� for being biased, self-serving and loathsome. Often, it is. But, come on. There�s more to the story as those stories show. The problem is that these stories aren�t every day events. That�s why they win awards. They stand out.

Now let�s take a look at the best of the blogs. What would Mencken think of them? Do they afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted?

You can�t argue with Strengthen The Good, a collaborative effort of a number of bloggers to put the spotlight on people who need help. Blogs like this even go a step further: They deliver that help.

Who can forget Chief Wiggles efforts to bring toys to kids in Iraq war zones? The effort was even noticed by President Bush.

How about afflicting the comfortable? You can find examples of this faster than you can say, �Rathergate.� Or �Trent Lott.� Or "Ted Rall." Or the name of anyone ever mentioned on Gawker.

So which wins, newspapers or blogs? Right now it looks like a tie. Newspapers still can hold true to the Mencken rule. But they don�t nearly often enough. There still seems to be too much newsroom bureaucracy and lawyering going on when it comes to important stories.

Blogs don�t really match the depth and texture of good newspapering � yet. But, man, every day bloggers are pounding it.

So where would Mencken turn, as a kid out of school, trying to break into journalism and writing? He would probably still opt for newspapers. He loved the prestige. He loved the access. He would probably be miserable inside today�s politically correct newsrooms. Editors would not even want him today if he couldn�t keep his bigotries under control. But Mencken loved newspapers.

One can only imagine, though, how he would have liveblogged the Scopes Monkey Trial.