The continuum from stalker to paparazzi to... blogger?

[Keyword: onlinejournalism]. Poynter notes the potential beginnings of an interesting trend as "Toronto Globe and Mail reporter Shawna Richer [is] given the go-ahead to spend the entire 2004-05 hockey season covering the Pittsburgh Penguins' hot rookie, Sidney Crosby [...] she'll be blogging about Crosby daily (or near daily)."

The move is hardly surprising given the media's obsession with celebrity, but the depth of that blog could represent a new level of obsessiveness. Conversely, how long until media companies start to pay fan bloggers (for example) a retainer for their own obsession-driven exclusives?