In a recent work meeting we talked about how certain brands have been able to transform their categories by participating in an active dialogue with consumers in a new way.  Until recently I didn't give enough credit to Current TV for pioneering this type of change in the news business. 

News outlets used to “listen” to their readers, listeners and viewers inasmuch as they created smaller, separate forums for people to express their opinions: letters to the editor or a call-in show, e.g.  Major news outlets then realized that anyone can be a journalist, and now each has their own citizen journalism functions — CNN has iReport, FoxNews has uReport, ABCNews has i-Caught, etc.

Current TV, to my knowledge, is the first and only outlet whose users create and decide (almost all of) its programming, including its news programming.  Though it doesn’t have the same viewership as its larger counterparts, I gotta believe the decision to create citizen journalism functions such as iReport was a reaction to what Current was doing.  And I have to believe it’s only a matter of time before they at least test the idea of giving their viewers much more influence over which stories get the most attention. 

And I'm not sure that's a good thing.  I mean just that - I'm not sure.

As a former congressional reporter, I consider journalists and editors experts at judging what is news and what isn't, and the public can benefit from their expertise.  As a current advertising strategist, I'm all for engaging your audience in an ongoing, two-way exchange, and letting people have a say. 

So is it too much to ask news outlets for both?  Let me see and vote on what I think is most newsworthy, but also give me the option to have editors (people who devote their careers to this) give me their picks.

UPDATE: this doesn't help the case of those who get paid to report the news:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Irish-student-hoaxes-worlds-apf-15201451.html?.v=1