I read Overholser’s “manifesto” also and bothered by the top-down tone of it all. My comment on HufPo noted that it’s going to take a lot more than what she proposed.

To add something to what you suggest: kick a group of journalists out of the newsroom and bring in a bunch of folks who know how to interact and what interaction is. Give them a small amount of money to take a Journalism 101 class at whatever State U if y’all believe it’s so important, then pay them a fair wage, and let them bring the newsroom up to date.

Don’t keep looking inside for innovation. Look to those who are already innovating.

Many of the journalists (and other busnessfolk) can’t get what interaction is because they stopped interacting a long time ago. They are hampered by a worldview that puts them above “people”–where people are only seen as subjects under some skewed “objective” microscope. If one can only interact in the f2f world by projecting some kind of a personna, it’s going to be a lot harder to become adept at it in internet-based spaces and communities.

There are, however, some of us who can manipulate both spaces. Bring us in and let us be the leaders.

Oh, but that’s probably asking way too much…