Along with school statistics, they can see a digital map of area schools. And users are talking back. When Time magazine darkened O.J. Simpson's face for a cover photo last summer, editors found themselves answering to angry readers in cyberspace. Editors and reporters aren't the only ones answering questions online. On ESPNet, users can forward questions to sports celebrities.
Users can also talk with each other.
LA's Timeslink offers online surveys, like this one on California Casinos, to get a public pulse on a current issue. For more in-depth discussions, readers wrestle with issues on community bulletin boards. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune Online let users go from online opinion pieces to discussion groups where they can vent their views on current issues like the Oklahoma bombing. The technology to provide bulletin boards and individualized information existed three and a half years ago, but the interface was ugly and confusing. Using these new technologies, successful regional newspapers and broadcasters are reinventing themselves to become their community's primary resource online.