By Steve Byers
Want to see one possible direction for future media? Look to Al Jazeera’s new show and website called “The Stream.” It’s an indication of where television might be headed, according to this view.
What Al Jazeera has done is formalize a technique it used during the Mideast unrest, especially in Egypt. The show uses a social media service to gather content and interact with the community. The Stream is unique in its use of tools like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook to both source the news and interact with its audience.
The website, called “The Stream”, is can be found online at http://stream.aljazeera.com; the TV show can be viewed at www.ustream.tv/channel/the-stream-al-jazeera. Keep your eyes on this because it may well be the future for TV network news.
Steve Byers is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Journalism at Marquette University’s Diederich College of Communication.
