User Interaction

Although some news sites may still present their content in standard formats, other organizations like the Chicago Sun-Times are doing some interesting and innovative things -- especially in the sports section.

Like many news sites, the Sun-Times has its share of blogs where readers can interact and offer comments. In addition to blogs for the city's major sports teams (Sox, Bulls, Bears, Cubs), there are blogs for high school sports and the outdoors. At the bottom of many stories, you can also find links to related blog posts from outside the site.

One of the more recent additions to the suntimes.com has been the use of scheduled online video chats with Sun-Times sports writers. In this example, White Sox beat writer Joe Cowley took questions from fans about the team.

For those who need the most up-to-date news on their favorite team, the Sun-Times is also making use of an online social networking service (Twitter). Once you sign up, you can receive text message or instant message updates from the reporter. Since I'm not much into those activities, I'll take a pass; however, this may be a wave of the future for text-messaging maniacs who like their updates in 140 words or less.

Finally, the Sun-Times has all sorts of great short video from sports highlights or interviews, to consumer advice by my former classmate aka "The Fixer," to "Joe Meets Pro," where a baseball beat writer tries his hand at doing what the pros do.

All in all, I'm impressed with the creative things suntimes.com. I'm not sure how popular each will be (i.e. Twitter), but I think it's admirable that they're trying new ways to communicate with readers/users.

Should reporters put their e-mails online?

As online editions and the Internet make the news media more accessible to the news consumer, many news operations seem to have different policies regarding whether or not to post reporters' or editors' e-mail.

On the plus side, at places like the Chicago Tribune, readers can now contact reporters much more easily to offer things like input, story ideas and corrections. Before e-mail, readers would have to be motivated to send an actual letter or make a phone call - which rarely happened.

Personally, I have found reporters' e-mails useful to set up guest speakers at a national high school journalism convention. In my News Writing class, I've had my students follow a reporter for a few weeks and ask them questions about their work. Most journalists are people persons and love to talk about what they do -- especially with young people.

The other side of the coin is when a journalist might become a target of unwanted communication from a reader /viewer.

A few years ago, I remember Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg lamenting his newspapers' policy of posting staff e-mails. Since he often wrote columns that stirred readers' passions, Steinberg apparently did not like being subject of their ire.

ESPN.com, which features many of the sports giant's famous personalities, does not post as many e-mail addresses as it has in the past. (However, with a little legwork, you can break their e-mail code.) Even if you wanted to call someone, like I needed to do recently for an interview, only one sales phone number is given and only a corporate address.

Although I have not heard any actual incidents involving e-mail stalkers, I'm sure this probably happens, too. One of my former students, who now works for ESPN, is the subject of a couple of fan tribute sites. For this former beauty queen, if her e-mail address was public, I'm sure she would be barraged with admirers' e-mails.

Therefore, I do understand the tendency to set up walls to communication. Logistically alone, reader e-mail would clog one's inbox. However, I think outlets that set up barriers to communication lose out on positive interaction.

By setting up in-house and outside e-mail accounts, journalists can use reader/viewer input in whichever way they see fit. E-mail is easily deleted in the same way hate mail is thrown away; but the majority of e-mails help establish a connection with news consumers.

Look at the reader comments on blogs. Look at live online chats. Readers want to interact and feel part of the newspaper, website or news station.

Instead of fearing contact with them, it should be a welcome addition.