As world leaders plan the future of the global economy at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, journalists are using social media and other innovative ways to bring the discussion closer to the people.

One way big media players are covering the discussion at Davos, and how it can affect us, is establishing pages dedicated to covering the World Economic Forum through Sunday. MediaBistro reports that CNBC.com has established one of these pages, offering interviews from the conference, and blogs from reporters and presenters, as well as a behind-the-scenes Heard in Davos 2010 blog, guest articles, and daily readers' polls. MediaBistro says CNBC.com is also offering readers the chance to submit their questions directly to delegates via e-mail.

Other media giants, like CNN, and Guardian, have created pages solely devoted to covering the WEF on their online portals. CNN has created a Davos page, featuring blog entries from big-name CNN journalists and economic analysts as well as, polls, and the latest videos from the conference.

CNN has also incorporated social media into its coverage by creating a Twitter account for its Davos coverage, allowing CNN fans to receive tweets about the latest news from the WEF. In an effort to bridge the gap between world and business leaders and regular citizens, CNN is also hosting an online chat with viewers from all over the world to discuss people's views on whether the recession is over for them or not, and how government and banks have helped or hindered their recovery. Many of these comments will appear on live televis ion.

The Guardian also has its eye on Davos, with a comprehensive page dedicated to the latest news from Davos. Its page includes commentary by key figures such as Joseph Stieglitz and Paul Krugman, as well as picture galleries from the conference that runs from January 27th until January 31st, 2010.

Reuters has also made the move towards social media in its Davos coverage by offering a live blog that features headlines from the WEF posted via Twitter by various journalists present at the meeting. The Reuters live blog will also be conducting interviews with key presenters of the conference like economist Nouriel Roubini, famously known as Dr. Doom, and is encouraging readers to leave their questions for Professor Roubini by commenting on the live blog.

These are just some ways in which journalists are trying to engage citizens to participate in a discussion that, albeit important, does not seem to include them at all. Perhaps the incorporation of coverage through social media and the participation of average citizens in interviews with experts can help bridge the gap between a ski town in the Alps and the rest of the world - between those who make the decisions and those who are affected by them.