I haven't been able to post on any of my blogs as much as I'd like because my newsroom is on the race towards launching a one of a kind newscast a week from today. Our goal is to bring a static newscast into a more interactive experience with the help of social media. We're using a number of tools to bring it all together - Including a product that's never been used in the United States to broadcast nearly live posts from Twitter and Facebook. (I say nearly because a producer can pick and choose the posts to air. There is a level of moderation to keep potentially inappropriate posts on television.) We asking our viewers (and even you if you want to play) to use #UonTV as our hashtag to contribute content. We're also asking community leaders to turn in their community events via video. This will replace our interview segments where organizers usually sit on the sit and talk with an anchor for two minute. There might be a live Skype conversation but there will also be pre-recorded Google+ hangouts where we focus on interesting topics of the day. We're trying to harness the power of social media and encourage our market to jump in and share with us. Here's a little video where our interactive anchor Sarah Hill explains how the show will work.

We're very excited to see this site launch. A capstone team of students in my class are helping coordinate and lead the development of the show's social media desk - a team of people who will keep watch on social conversations for the show. We're planning on letting this role develop as we learn what works and what doesn't work for the newscasts. Hopefully we'll be able to document the experience so other newsrooms can learn from us!

By the way - if you're curious about what I'm teaching in my class, here's what this week's focus is on: Building your name brand online.