HONOLULU: During second day of its new interactive newscast, “@i9News,” KGMB-TV producers got a tweet from a woman in Hilo who felt an earthquake that prompted anchors to seek viewer feedback on what was going on. The next day during a statewide flash-flood warning, the station ask for “TwitPics,” images sent via Twitter. Pictures came in from every island, the station reported on its own tech Web site.
The station launched the franchise last week, with anchor Tannya Joaquin tweeting and checking blog comments while on the air.
“It is a way for us to use our medium, television, to connect with you [through] social media,” a KTMB blogger wrote. “It’s no longer about us ‘yelling into the void’ over the airwaves and you receiving all the information we throw at you, but rather you getting involved with us to contribute to the newscast, to be part of the information. You are integral to the future of KGMB9… You are integral to the future of Hawaii.”
