I got a cool e-mail yesterday from Justin Grigg, news editor for the Missoulian newspaper in Montana. “I recently bought an Android phone and stocked it with apps based on some of your blog posts. Little did I know I’d get to use Qik in the field so soon – I streamed live footage of a bear up a tree in downtown Missoula, Mont.”

Here’s the news story and one of the videos. “We started out with a link to the live stream from a breaking news story about the bear downtown. People in the office tweeted about the story and live stream,” Justin wrote.

The video showed how authorities managed to capture the bear without hurting the wild animal. It’s a good example of how a smart phone can be an amazing tool when you’re covering breaking news. Apps like Qik let you broadcast a video as the news happens. Awesome. Glad it was useful, Justin.