You Choose, Steve Hartman Reports

Every year the major networks (CBS included) spend millions of dollars trying to figure out what people want to see on TV. Yet, in the end, much of the programming isn't what you would have picked at all.

That's why we're giving you a direct say in the matter beginning tonight. You and the rest of our viewers will be able to pick some of the stories we air on the CBS Evening News with Bob Schieffer.

Every Friday night we'll present you with three feature stories under consideration for the next week's broadcast. We'll then invite you to visit CBSNews.com to vote for the story that sounds most interesting. You can also submit an idea of your own. The story that gets the most votes will air on the following Friday's CBS Evening News.

Whatever our viewers decide, CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman will get the story. Hartman might be best known for his award winning "Everybody Has A Story" series, in which he profiled people picked at random from the phone book. This project promises to be equally unpredictable.

Want an inside look at the national quilt show? Steve's got it covered.

Want to know more about the "do-it-yourself funeral" craze? I'm sure he'll be dying to tell you.

Want to know what it's like to strap yourself to a bunch of helium balloons (there really are people who do this) and go hurtling through the air? We'll make him do that too — whether he wants to or not.

Of course you can still count on CBS News to bring you all the day's major stories told by the best reporters in the business. This segment is just a way for us to make sure we're giving you a say — and a newscast you want to see.