Today I put in a two weeks notice with WKRN-TV here in Nashville. I’m sad to leave my work family here, but I’m very excited about the personal and professional growth opportunities that lie ahead. I will miss co-workers who have taught me so much during my time here, especially the wisdom of those who have been in the TV news business through a lot of ups and downs.

The past 3+ years have been an exciting time in television news and specifically at WKRN. The innovation we helped bring to the industry as a whole through the web has been widely noted and has helped moved stations across the nation into use of emerging web tools.

Our experimentation with blogs is likely the most widely noted. At a time when the industry as a whole scoffed at empowering any other voice but the reporter or anchor, WKRN embraced it. Now, virtually every TV station across the country has one or staff who author them.

Twitter and Facebook has helped place WKRN in a dominant and trusted position within our local community as viewers seek the latest information that directly affects their lives. WKRN was the first station in Nashville to bring you regular on-air commentary on top news stories directly from our viewers via Twitter. Since then, use of Twitter on cable news and elsewhere has become a new tool in instant viewer interaction.

Listening to our viewers has gotten infinitely easier thanks to these and other social media tools.

WKRN was the first station in the nation to use a locally developed platform to accept user generated photo and video content. Now TV stations and newspapers across the state and all over the country are using this innovative tool empowering individuals to instantly share their life’s experience, sometimes in the midst of breaking news.

WKRN’s recent use of live streaming from iPhones and laptops with broadband was just a dream 3 short years ago. Now anyone can do it, and access to live streams directly from viewers opens up a tremendous possibility for news gathering in the very near future.

A lot has changed in just 3 short years, and more change is certain to come. The very near future is full of exciting opportunities and changes that connect us and share our stories in innovative ways. If you would like to follow along, you can follow me on Twitter (@grantham), FaceBook, or read my blog. Yeah, those things are still around.