I’m wondering what other ways we can connect to audience in addition to Twitter. Blogs seem to serve that purpose. I don’t know about Facebook only because I tend to limit access to professional contacts, but perhaps Facebook pages.

Perhaps what we need most is to realize that it’s not all about utilizing others’ tools. Maybe it’s time for pubs to create their own iPhone apps and gadgets

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I agree. I also find it interesting that some journalists (generally those who haven’t used them yet) want Twitter, Facebook etc. to be an all or nothing kind of thing. It’s not a choice between blurting out any opinion on your mind and good, meaningful conversations. There will be some of both and everything in between, just like in anything else in life, and there are certainly many, many ways to use these new opportunities for conversation in journalistically responsible ways. I even think we can retain objectivity, as long as we think of it more as a METHOD of verifying information and presenting it transparently, rather than thinking of it as a MIRROR e.g. I the journalist am pretending to be a machine that takes in info and spits out stories (obviously I’m on my usual soapbox and borrowing from Elements with that riff.) I think that ultimately, the truth is better served through sustained interaction with others. Instead of just putting the facts out there, we are injecting them into the national conversation and also continually testing them and adding in perspectives and context.