The Chicago Tribune website is using online video to stage two-way chats between readers and journalists.

Launched last May, the service, called Video Chat, is a half-hour program that "lets readers ask journalists or other personalities questions about specific stories or subjects," said Mark Hinojosa, The Tribune's Associate Managing Editor of Electronic News.

A Video Chat requires three people plus a host or a guest. A producer feeds the reader-generated questions to the host. The in-studio guests, or host if there is no guest, then answer the questions, while readers follow along on their web browsers, reports Newspapers & Technology.

Participation is capped at 500 simultaneous users, but an unlimited number can tune in to watch. As the shows are not regularly scheduled, archives of all prior video chats are available online.

The Tribune's new project has not been hiccup-free. Rather than technical difficulties, however, Clark Bender, Chicago Tribune Interactive Executive Producer, said that the most difficult thing has been choosing appropriate subject matter for the shows,

"Sometimes, we've had writers come in and the topic was too broad and other times we've had more specific issues like real estate zoning in Chicago."

YouTube also recently announced plans to have live video up and running before the end of the year. Although Bender admits it's too early to tell if live video will cause an overall online traffic increase, newspapers should be looking to adapt live video possibilities to their own websites, rather than risk being behind the curve.

Source: Newspapers & Technology through I Want Media