Hearst-Argyle Let's Viewers/Surfers Help Cover N.H. Primary

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/20/2007 8:36:00 AM

Hearst-Argyle is taking participatory democracy into the newsroom. The broadcaster is asking viewers and Web surfers to submit videos about the upcoming New Hampshire primary to the station Web sites of its WMUR-TV Manchester, N.H., and WCVB-TV Boston as well as the stations' YouTube channels. 

Surfers will then get a chance to rank the videos, with the top choices used in the TV station's coverage of the primary, now only 19 days away. 

In June, Hearst-Argyle became the first independent TV-station-group owner to strike a content-sharing deal with YouTube, which has become a political force to be reckoned with, co-hosting presidential debates and serving as an outlet for candidate messages to potential voters.