Journalists, lies and message boards

I don't want clever conversation. I never want to work that hard. I just want someone that I can talk to. I want you just the way you are.

 

There's always a place for the angry young man.

 

Now, that was a good pull.

 

I can't tell if the original post is a serious question or not...And what's this "other board." Not trying to be dense...I really have no idea.

But if that is a legitimate question...I have used a succession of identities since the very old days of SportsJournalists.com since I didn't want people to know who I am. But now I don't post much anymore and don't especially care if anyone figures me out.

That said, I know for a fact there are regular posters here who don't want to be identified who will occasionally post false information about themselves or their background in order to throw others off the scent. And I can't say I really have a problem with that.

Building an entire Internet identity around those falsehoods? Well, that sounds more like a personal problem than a professional/journalism one.

 

You'll always be our little CHARMION, dools.

 

CHAPION!

 

I'm confused by the question. It certainly isn't ethical for a journalists to pretend to be someone else on their own paper's Web site or to comment on their own stuff (posing as someone else). And while many people on here use anonymous names, I'm not sure why they would make up fake lives. So is the question regarding a newspaper's message board, or is it some niche message board? Also, is the made up person really causing problems or is it just to avoid being too personal. I doesn't really bother me if anyone, a journalist or otherwise, says something on a message board (that's not in any way connected to their job), that they have a hot girlfriend if they really don't, or that they have a happy home life, but they're really going through a divorce or something. I'm not sure what exactly the question is referring to, but if this person is just on some private, anonymous message board and not outing who they really are or their real-life story to a bunch of strangers, I don't know if that would really bother me.

 

I have gone on local sites like Rivals sites ans such affiliated with schools we might cover under a generic name to questions a "scoop" they posted or to banter a bit. But I didn't create a persona or anything, just was trying to stick up for good journalism.

But I felt weird doing it the couple times I posted and decided not to post on those sites anymore. Most I do now is post here and make fun of racist reader comments on our on newspaper stories.

 

Somewhat related:
I just discovered that one of the long time posters to our newspaper website is a city council member. As the internet poster, the council member has taken numerous shots at the mayor and some fellow council members and of course the newspaper.
I told me EE and he wants to out the poster, which I am opposed to, but not for moral reasons.
I doubt seriously the council member is the only one posting. We have several city and county officials, including a county commissioner, who post anonomyously and I wouldn't mind outing them.
But I rather allow them to keep posting - so we can continue to track the comments and make more rope to hang em.

 

So he is posting on your paper site? That's tricky.

What if some Joe Q. Public posted something negative another person and that person wanted the paper to reveal who the poster was to possibly sue. What would the paper's stand be then?

 

Yes... posting on our site.

As for the second question, I think there is some legal precedent there.

 

What about going to a chat room and pretending to be a busty, blonde college sophomore? Actually, nevermind. Forget I said anything. :-[