13WHAM.com - the online unit of the ABC affiliate in Rochester, NY - recently launched "Rochester Reports", a blog that allows well-informed reporters Rachel Barnhart and Evan Dawson to offer a less objective but generally more informative perspective on the major issues facing Rochester. This is a great way to get reporters more involved with the public, as viewers can comment on any of the postings. The website already has a community forum sections of its website, but if often goes ignored or is only utilized by a select few. I have been, and for the most part still am critical of local media outlets for their use of modern website technology. The great majority of local TV news websites are not living up to their potential in the way that news is delivered or presented. Many have outdated graphics, ugly template formatting, and reduced content compared with their broadcast efforts. This blog is a step in the right direction for providing a greater scope of news coverage and establishing a platform for the exchange of ideas. News directors are always trying to engage the public in what their stations do and with what is going on in the community. Making everything "interactive" is an industry-wide goal. Many of them, in my opinion, fail miserably in their online ventures - especially in reaching the younger demographic used to social networking and user-generated media sites such as facebook and youtube. Many smaller newspapers have actually done more with interactive web content than their broadcast counterparts. it will be interesting to see what these websites look like in another 2 to 5 years.
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