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Nebraska newspaper the Grand Island Independent has used live blogging tool CoverItLive to open up the redesign of its website to reader input.

The paper used the service to begin a live Q&A session between readers and web staff last week following a relaunch of the site.

The feature, which was advertised in the print edition of the newspaper and via a link on the site's homepage, was kept open for an extra two days, because of its popularity.

Opening up the feedback process benefited both the readers and the staff, as glitches with the new site were quickly reported and fixed, Stephanie Romanski, web editor of the Independent, told Journalism.co.uk.

"I thought the readers might have a lot of questions. So I wanted to give them a place to go for immediate help. It just seemed fitting to try the tool out with a Q&A," she said.

"The whole errors issue surprised me and was an unexpected bonus to holding the Q&A. I mostly expected either 'Love it/Hate it responses or a lot of 'I can’t find…' questions. I think we impressed some readers by being able to respond to their issues so quickly."

This is the first time the Independent has used the service, but Romanski said she hopes to experiment with the tool for sports and political coverage and to set up a regular weekly chat with staff at the paper.

The use of online tools such as CoverItLive to supplement the paper's own content is increasingly part of the Independent's strategy online, Romanski added.

"I believe that newspapers that embrace the web and the awesome and often free tools available out there will be the newspapers that make it through the current slump the industry is experiencing and will thrive in the future."

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blogging | stephanie romanski | grand island independent | coveritlive |

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