"Most users are used to consuming news passively. This is the first place where users are able to take an interactive approach and steer the conversation themselves," said Samantha Stamler, the executive producer of Interview Club.
"Interview Club is based off of users' questions. … Our hosts are not doing a standard news interview."
Every question is reviewed by a team of moderators. Subscribers' questions must fit within Interview Club's community guidelines to be approved by the moderation team.
"We're not trying to create a Facebook comments-like experience, we're creating a very moderated experience … so you don't have to worry about being trolled or spammy user-generated content displayed on the platform," Gohel said.
If you submit a question in advance but miss the livestream, not to worry: You'll be notified in your CNN+ feed if your question was answered and you can click on it to hear the response.
Another cool feature: Users will see and possibly hear their names during the Q&A.
"When we say that users are able to directly connect with our talent, with experts, with newsmakers -- we mean directly," Stamler explained. "They are acknowledging your question, they are saying your name and ... they are directly engaging with you.
"It's a really exciting moment when your favorite CNN anchor or your favorite celebrity says, 'Hey Sam, great question!' "
Starting right now, CNN+ subscribers can submit questions to several newsmakers on the Interview Club homepage, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams and chief medical adviser to the president Dr. Anthony Fauci.
There are plans to expand on the Interview Club concept in the future, Gohel explained.
"This is the starting point for the journey of where Interview Club will go and, as we start to think about different ways in which users are able to express their opinions or their thoughts or things that they care about, we'll start layering in more of those experiences," he said.
