Sandy Witkow and John Greenberg are doing something incredible: they’re offering vernacular election coverage. I remember hearing them talk about their plans months ago when I was still living in Chicago and thinking too good to be true, not gonna happen. But they were serious, and they have worked hard to bring you the Pilsen Interactive Media Project. In their words, here is what they stand for:

Interactivity: If you have a webcam and an opinion, you can be a pundit for our coverage; our producers will maintain an open chat room and prep our viewer/participants for on-air commentary.

Open-Source: Our coverage will be built on the Web 2.0 foundation, and we’ll be checking in with commentary coming in from the blogosphere’s most influential voices, live-blogging Election Night.

Relaxed Atmosphere: While I may end up wearing a tie for the broadcast, the Pilsen Interactive Media Project will slash the pomposity and stiffness of regular network news, making our coverage of election a fun and laid-back free-for-all. Heck, we’ll be taking a shot every time we call a swing state for Obama!

Honesty (not necessarily objectivity): While mainstream media outfits make the 20th century claim of objectivity and “fair and balanced coverage”, we understand and are upfront about who we are and our perspective. We’re 20-somethings from Chicago, who do you think we’re voting for? With that said, we understand that nobody’s purpose is served by spin and lies, and since we’re only answerable to our viewer/participants, we’ll trust you to correct us if we express nonsensical views.

This is a fantastic example of the vernacular–using local resources to meet local needs. With little more than a computer, a projector, a hacked wiimote and a Ustream channel, these guys are circumventing network television. By reappropriating local resources, they are decentralizing power in order to create a viable local structure that provides a superior service with increased accountability. It’s free. It’s honest. You can participate. These are the benefits of vernacular structures.

So, when does it start? Tomorrow night after the presidential debate! Here is the info they have provided:

To participate in this rehearsal, visit our website  after the debate (approximately 9:30CDT/10:30EDT/7:30PDT).  We’ll be doing about an hour of live commentary, reviewing highlights, and bringing you live into our living room in Pilsen. You can contact us through Gmail or Aim: PIMPLiveLine or Skype: PIMPLiveLine for video-conferences and VOIP calls.