At this radio network, the audience is the star (MSNBC)

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At this radio network, the audience is the star
Minnesota Public Radio project may be a model for the future of journalism
By Michael Rogers
Columnist
Special to MSNBC
updated 2:37 p.m. ET, Wed., July. 25, 2007
St. Paul, Minn.'s best-known contribution to modern media may be Prairie Home Companion — but its Minnesota Public Radio group is now working on a project with even bigger potential. And this time the star isn’t Garrison Keillor, but the audience itself.

MPR's Public Insight Journalism initiative is perhaps the most advanced effort thus far in involving the audience in the news-gathering process. The Minnesota work — along with similar attempts around the world — may well be a model for the future of journalism itself.

The Internet, of course, has made the involvement of the public in news-gathering inevitable. Already, often the best photography and video from disaster scenes comes directly from eyewitness cameras and cellphones. And readers are now accustomed to logging onto sites to discuss the news via forums and discussion boards.

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Incidently, Michael Rogers' "The Practical Futurist" is my favorite online column.