GrandCentral was founded back in 2005 and it was acquired by Google soon after. It’s by no means a new service. According to its Web site, its mission is not to “replace your phone… [but] just link them together and help them do more.” And they do that by giving you a brand new number from any area code in the United States… for free.

But what else can GrandCentral let you do?

• Record and store phone calls right onto the Internet

• Have one number ring multiple phones simultaneously

• Personalize voicemail greetings by caller

• Listen in on a voicemail in progress before you take the call

• Switch phones (cell to landline, etc.) in the middle of call without interruption

• Add a WebCall button to a website for people to call you instantly

But the first reason is why I think it’s great for Medill kids. If you’re on the phone conducting an interview, you simply hit “4″ on your phone and voila, the call starts being recorded. Both parties will then hear a message from GrandCentral notifying them that call recording has begun. When you’re done, you simply log-on to your GrandCentral account and you can download the conversation as a MP3 file and edit away. Here’s a sample of the sound quality:

Best of all, GrandCentral is a free service at the moment. The downside is that they’re still in beta testing. This means that in order to get an account you must either know someone who uses the service or sign-up for the waiting list on GrandCentral’s site. But with technology this easy to use, I think Medill should invest some cash in the company and get every Medill kid an account. It’s so Medill 20/20, right?