On Wednesday, the newspaper's U.S. arm plans to launch what it's calling a "pop-up aggregator." After a major news story breaks -- the kind that's bound to be discussed for days, such as Marissa Mayer's appointment as CEO of Yahoo -- a writer will put up a post asking for the best commentary and analysis that surfaces in the following hours and days. Participants are asked to tweet nominations on Twitter with the hashtag #smarttakes.
"We want to showcase multiple perspectives after a big story breaks," Ruth Spencer, community coordinator for The Guardian U.S., explains. "The Guardian can't do them all."
The initiative also syncs nicely with The Guardian's broader efforts to open up its newsroom, she adds. "It's another way to engage with our readers, and another way for them to engage with our content."
Spencer says #smarttakes, which has been operating in "soft launch" mode for some time, was inspired by Alexis Madrigal's story, "How to think about Wikileaks" on TheAtlantic.com. The story, which was updated over the course of five days, excerpted and linked to what Madrigal determined were the "very best" responses to WikiLeaks's release of the State Department cables. He asked readers to send in suggestions by email.
Mashable asked Spencer if commentary and analysis would be limited to specific media. Beyond written articles, she said interactive features and video interviews would qualify, but that a single tweet likely wouldn't. Readers' takes will be confined to the comments section.
Does this kind of project appeal to you? Would you participate? Where do you go to surface multiple perspectives on a given news topic?