First off - thanks to Mike for lending his platform. He is an amazing tech mind and I think one of the guys in mainstream media who will drive the bus of reluctant media types towards the future. I'm lucky to work with him.
Now, I am curious what you think about a project a former colleague is working on. One of my challenges as a reporter is making interactive really interactive. Webpolls are timid and comment boards often get hijacked - so I struggle with how to really interact with viewers. Wxyz.com (the site for the ABC station in Detroit) posted a web-only piece yesterday afternoon. They found a Detroit fire fighter strapping a home movie camera to his helmet and taping the fires he was fighting. He posted the videos on YouTube.
Instead of getting reaction first - wxyz.com posted links, the facts they knew and asked users to weigh in on what the story is, what questions policy makers and the fire fighter should be asked. See it here. The idea was to let users shape the coverage instead of just react to it. Hundreds of people wrote in questions and some of the news makers wouldn't answer them, but I think the experiment worked. Your thoughts?
Ted Oberg
