Today’s THV, the local CBS affiliate, is making some changes to its approach to news reporting; changes that could prove to be an exciting development here in Arkansas.

Current sports anchor and dynamic personality Craig O’Neill is taking a leave of absence from the sports desk to spearhead the television stations efforts to encourage conversations with viewers on the station’s website, Today’sTHV.com.

According to Arkansas Business, “Viewers will be encouraged to participate in forums, create blogs, post photos and contribute to the community calendar. O’Neill will incorporate contributions from viewers and other news items from the online community into his reports.”

I often discuss the evolution of media in this space, and there’s a lot left to be seen as to how Today’s THV will approach it. But Gannett, the parent company, is very committed to this idea of community journalism, which tells me they’re going to do all they can to make it successful. As Today’s THV News Director Chuck Maulden said, “We are just hoping Craig - as one of our best-known personalities - he can take this and build on it.”

The station already has one important advantage: its website is the most heavily trafficked among media concerns in Little Rock according to a recent Media Audit report. They not only outpace the other news stations, but Arkansas’s only statewide daily, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, which has a curious view of the power of the web in telling the news.

A loyal Think Tank reader brought to my attention the parallel between what Today’s THV is attempting to do and the existing Current TV, Al Gore’s 24-hour viewer generated channel. As the reader notes, “asking people to submit vlogs [video blogs for those of you not with the web slang] is nothing new, but to do it on a local level with a station is new, particularly for Arkansas.”

It’s not a secret that the Internet, in addition to the 24-hour news cycle, has created a news-hungry population. And while their craving news, they also want information presented in unfiltered, less sleek ways. That’s why blogs (now estimated at over 74 million) and social networks, which many news entities are using to share information about their own publications, are on the rise.

I applaud Today’s THV for stepping out there in this way. It’s where media’s heading and, assuming it’s done right, better to be leading the pack than bringing up the rear. I’ll be following with great interest.

UPDATE: The Arkansas Times has had community blogs for a while now.  I write one of them: “The Moviegoer.”