The genius of this… California Watch is having a contest and all you have to do is comment on the site. The site is giving away a free iPod Touch each month for the next six months. (Seems they got the Touches free when they bought computers and wanted to put them to good use.) So they’re trying to encourage a little civility and cleverness by way of a comments contest:
“You don’t have to agree with our content to be eligible. You just have to be thoughtful, focused and articulate in making your argument. Comments will be judged also on clarity of thinking and persuasiveness. And we could be swayed by clever humor. The judging is totally subjective. But we all know a good comment when we see one.”
Brilliant. They’ll get all sorts of new commenters, build a civil community and (as is evidenced) get some good PR along the way. California Watch is a not-for-profit investigative journalism initiative. (via Nieman)
