"The channel’s shows, its website and spinoff experimental sites tap into its audience to develop story ideas, gather data and deepen engagement. That collaboration between audience and professionals makes it an interesting networked journalism example.

“It’s culturally aligned with what drives new media today,” Powers said, “and we see that in the way its programs play out.”

Here’s an example: On Al Jazeera’s beta site, War on Gaza, users in region can submit events, from protests to incidents of violence, using SMS or Twitter. The site is powered using Ushahidi, a tool designed to crowdsource crisis situations. The submissions are tracked on a map with color-coded dots, which offer the user a new kind of geographic understanding of a conflict. Al Jazeera, which has reporters in parts of the Arab world other cable networks do not, can followup on events, mixing in the work of professionals with the wisdom of the crowd.