In fact, it's quite the opposite. Whether it's called Speaker's Corner, MeTV, or simply The Box, local stations are using video kiosks to reach out to viewers and put their voices on the air. The result is nothing like the same old stuff. In north Minneapolis, a homeless young woman in a backwards baseball cap tells WCCO-TV's box that she no longer takes things for granted. I'm more thankful for it, well, when I will get it.
People just push a button, stand in front of the box, and begin recording.
The comments also can be newsworthy. The station has pursued stories on issues like traffic safety that it learned about from KSAT Chat. Boyle says it takes work to make the box productive. Somebody has to develop the questions and screen the tapes, sifting through the obscenities and clown acts to find something meaningful. Yet the effort can be worth it.