You get a line and I'll get a pole, Honey

The latest edition Lee Tolliver's popular online chats with local fisherpersons was a great success. He responded to 34 questions from readers and did so with aplomb and good cheer. It made good reading, even for those of us who don't know a cobia from a crappie.

One reader comment in Lee's blog struck me as an especially good example of the strength of the new media over the old.

Reader David McDaniel of Newport News wrote:

Hey, Lee, I promised you a report from last Friday's fishing for striper and tautog. It was a terrible day for fishing. We didn't get a single fish in the boat! We trolled all Cape Henry down to 66th Street for the striper along with a dozen or more boats, all of which had no luck either (at least from the ones we spoke to). We tautogged at the Cape Henry Wreck and CBBT 2-3 Isle -- NADA! Not a strike, not a single bite all day. But I will say it was a beautiful day on the water, and we all know it's called "fishing" not "catching."

In the old media mindset, Lee would have been the "expert" dispensing his knowledge and wisdom to the huddled masses. And, yes, they'd better be grateful for it.

The new media mindset, however, makes it OK for a lowly reader to check in and tells Lee and his readers something they might not otherwise have known. Everybody, including the "expert" himself learns a bit more about the world. As much as Lee knows about his subject -- and that's a lot -- he can't possibly know what's going on everywhere all the time.

When journalists collaborate with their readers to advance everyone's understanding of what is true, everybody wins.