Can Vitamin C really fight off a cold? What are some great new Canadian bands? Why do the majority of Globe & Mail executive lunch features focus on men, and why can’t there be more women?
These questions and more have been regularly featured on the Globe & Mail’s Canada Q&A, the national newspaper’s new effort to reach out to more readers. And since you’re wondering, not really, July Talk, and they’ve done better this year but there’s more to do.
So what’s the deal? Well, you ask a question via email, tweet, vlog, or whatever, and if it’s a good question the team over at the Globe & Mail will give you a comprehensive answer. News items aren’t the only thing being asked about, either. The merits of taking competition out of kids sports, how to get a six pack, the best Canadian horror movie, the finer legal points of the Luka Magnotta trial—all make for suitable questions. Well, maybe not these specific subjects anymore, given that the Globe & Mail has already discussed them, but you get the idea. Our national newspaper’s writers have a pretty broad range of knowledge, and they’re happy to share.
The move is a bit reminiscent of Al Jazeera’s new strategy earlier this year, which has readers participating in quizzes and polls in order to foster engagement between people and their news. In other words, news reporting has become less of a monologue and more of a dialogue—and we can get behind that.
Photo courtesy of Flickr.
