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Maj. Nidal Malik is awake and talking. Sen. Joe Lieberman vows to investigate the events leading up Fort Hood, specifically seeking any evidence that the Army missed cues that Malik was showing signs of becoming an Islamic radical. Had said signs existed, then this could have led to Malik’s discharge, ergo preventing last week’s horrible events from ever transpiring.

Lieberman’s approach is sure to raise eyebrows, especially in light of some of the testimonies from those living in Fort Hood. JonRaymond pointed us to a story on MSNBC in which a woman shares her relationship with Malik under the protection of anonymity:

“Everyone else just sat down there and drunk their beer and looked at him and giggled at him,” the woman said, starting to cry. “They just would laugh at him when he walked down with his Muslim clothes. . . . He was mistreated. He didn’t have nobody. He was all alone. He went to his apartment there and was all alone.”

This is where things get sticky. Was the Fort Hood shooting the result of an Islamic radical enacting a master plan, or was it backlash against religious persecution within in a small concentrated environment? It would seem that Lieberman is suggesting the former, but if it turns out that the latter is actually the case this poses complications when considering the very reasons for founding the United States of America back in 1776.

This is where we’re at on Monday, and the Developing Stories approach to our coverage on Current.com is the vehicle which brought us here. Our community has acted as the driver, by pitching and scooping stories as they develop. If you’re interested, read details about participating in the Developing Stories process on the Current.com blog.

It will be interesting to see where this story will take us next.

Yesterday we introduced a new experiment on Current.com called Developing Stories. As expected, there has been some confusion around the concept, but we’re working to clear things up as we go, after all it’s an experiment. Ed. Note — If you’ve already read our intro post, please re-read it as it’s been updated with information about pitching stories for consideration as Developing Stories. Thanks!

Our first ever Developing Story came from current89 titled, “House Dems set for health care vote: AARP to endorse bill.”

This morning, we have our first scoop. WakeUpPeople posted a story titled, “Bachmann calls on protestors to use scare tactics against Congress.” This was considered a scoop because it’s a new development in the health care reform bill story, so current89’s story has been removed from featuring on the Current.com homepage, removed from the Current Developing Stories group, and placed in the Developing Stories Archives. Also note, both of these stories have been connected via links in their comments.

It will be interesting to see how this develops going forward. Kudos to both current89 and WakeUpPeople for getting Developing Stories off and running!

Got a scoop? Want to suggest a story for development? Here’s how!

If you want to get your story on our radar for consideration, please tag it with “Current Developing Stories” when you submit to Current.com. PLEASE NOTE: Tagging is not the same as adding to a group. The “Current Developing Stories” is a CLOSED group managed by the editors, so you will not be able to add stories there. Tagging, however, will allow you to be seen by our editors we will monitor that tag for potential stories to develop.

Last week I laid out details about our editorial team and guidelines when it comes to finding and featuring content on Current.com. Today we’re launching a brand new community-based experiment built on top of our editorial practices which, for lack of a better name, I’m calling “Developing Stories.”

What is a Developing Story?

This doesn’t always hold true, but quite frequently we notice that stories we feature on Current.com actually speak to a larger, ongoing story in play. Sometimes these stories are stretched out over longer periods of time (e.g. the ongoing discussions around public options in healthcare reform, or the debates surrounding gay marriage), and other times these stories are developing rapidly over the course of hours (e.g. Elections 2009, Afghan presidential elections, or Michael Jackson’s death).

Starting today, we’ll begin identifying certain featured stories that we think have the opportunity to be “developed” further. These stories will be added to our Developing Stories group, and we’ll clearly mark it as such on both the story page and whichever image is picked to accompany the story.

What does it mean to have a story picked as a Developing Story?

This is the cool part. Getting your story featured as a Developing Story is like having the stage handed over to you. We’re looking to take a closer look at the underpinnings of these stories, and we’re giving you the opportunity to take on the role of online investigative journalist in the process. As long as things continue to progress in a relevant way, your story will remain featured on Current.com.

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