Q&A Case Study
Ask the Mayor
The State newspaper asked the mayor of Columbia, SC to answer readers' questions.
Here's how they used Coral to make that possible.
![Q&A headline Headline from The State introducing the Q&A](https://coralproject.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen-Shot-2020-04-02-at-7.07.39-PM.png?w=735)
Stage one: the Q&A is announced
The State publishes an article inviting questions from their audience. They set Coral's Q&A tool to 'pre-moderate all questions,' and some readers submit questions in advance.
Learn more about the tool here.
![Q&A article Text of an article introducing the mayoral q&a](https://coralproject.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen-Shot-2020-04-03-at-11.26.46-AM.png?w=577)
![Screen Shot 2020-04-03 at 1.35.28 PM Tweet about an upcoming Q&A](https://coralproject.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen-Shot-2020-04-03-at-1.35.28-PM.png?w=598)
![Tweet Q&A Tweet about the Q&A](https://coralproject.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen-Shot-2020-04-03-at-1.35.52-PM.png?w=594)
Stage two: the Mayor arrives
Mayor Benjamin opens the article and answers questions submitted and voted upon by readers. His replies are marked with a badge and automatically placed in the 'Answered' column.
![Q&A with the mayor Screenshot of Q&A with the mayor of Colombia](https://coralproject.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/thestate.jpg?w=627)
Readers can ask more questions, vote on his answers, see questions he hasn't answered yet, and reply to him and to each other. As more questions come in, a member of The State team approves them for publication.
![Q&A moderation A screenshot of the moderation interface](https://coralproject.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen-Shot-2020-04-03-at-1.19.10-PM.png?w=938)
Sometimes, a journalist adds more context to his answers.
![Newsroom comment A message from a journalist in The State newsroom](https://coralproject.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen-Shot-2020-04-03-at-1.02.55-PM.png?w=761)
Stage three: the Q&A is over
After 30 minutes, the live Q&A ends. The State changes the message on Coral and prevents more submissions.
![End of Q&A A message about the Q&A being over](https://coralproject.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen-Shot-2020-04-03-at-1.03.22-PM.png?w=745)
What they said
It went very well. The interface was easy, and the questions and replies updated really quickly on both the site and in the moderation portal. – Cal Lundmark, Southeast editor of audience growth & loyalty, McClatchy Co. Read the original article.
![A thread of questions and answers](https://coralproject.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen-Shot-2020-04-03-at-1.03.14-PM.png)
Try it for yourself
Coral Q&A is fast and easy to install, and is available only to Coral customers.