It was bound to happen... Reporters are becoming brands.

The New York Observer just did a fascinating piece about this phenomenon taking hold at The New York Times, the newspaper perhaps most unlikely to allow its own reporters to develop personas beyond the institution.

But it's happening. Thanks to the blogosphere, reporters at the NYT -- and elsewhere -- are stepping beyond their Mother Ships to create their own followings. The article explains:

We all know that some of the newer forms of communication -- RSS feeds, blogs, podcasts -- have generated a great deal of buzz.  The question is, where are they going?

Will they grow to become a permanent piece of the marketing/PR mix, or will they fade away after the initial enthusiasm is gone?

In a post today, Church of the Customer Blog cites an AdAge report that describes expected marketing spend on various forms of new media.  It shows they are getting serious attention from marketers -- in the form of actual budget!