Together with Dominique Heinbach from Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, we look at the interaction potential of online communication, which can be considered the basis of a modern journalism-audience relationship. The focus is on user comments as a special form of interaction between journalists and their audience. Dominique Heinbach will report from her ongoing research projects "Constructive Discussions through Interactive Empowerment" (KODIE) and "Deliberative Discussions on the Social Web" (DEDIS).