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Where do you stand on "reader comments"?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Dave Kindred, Jan 1, 2008.

Page 2 of 11
  1. Write-brained

    Write-brained Guest

    That is exactly the way we do it. It has made me uncomfortable on several occassions.
     
    Write-brained, Jan 1, 2008
    #13
  2. sportschick

    sportschick Active Member

    ECrawford,

    Our papers must have the same lawyers, because that's our moderation policy as well.
     
    sportschick, Jan 1, 2008
    #14
  3. HoopsMcCann

    HoopsMcCann Active Member

    i heard of one place where a guy heard about where to get a good blowjob, that's gotta be a pro
     
    HoopsMcCann, Jan 1, 2008
    #15
  4. Write-brained

    Write-brained Guest

    Yup, and it's like going into the dragon's den.

    What's funny is when I had my blog, I mostly got nice, sweet comments from readers. I think it's because of the give and take. Reporters don't post anything in the comments.
     
    Write-brained, Jan 1, 2008
    #16
  5. Walter Burns

    Walter Burns Member

    Our reader comments have provided me with no end of free entertainment.
    But while the newspaper industry tries to figure out the role of the Internet, they need to keep in mind the line from "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back:"
    What is the internet for but porn and anonymous insults?
     
    Walter Burns, Jan 1, 2008
    #17
  6. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    Absolutely hate them, and I don't see how registration is the answer if you're still talking fake names. Papers are barely taking time to delete inflammatory comments (most don't); they sure as heck aren't cross-referencing them with the e-mail addresses and the like to snuff out the real people and bar them or whatever.

    I'll never be convinced that reader comments online can't/shouldn't be held to the same standard as letters to the editor, all the way down to the name and city. Don't give me the community-forum arguments, blah blah blah, if it's all fake names anyway.
     
    playthrough, Jan 1, 2008
    #18
  7. Chi City 81

    Chi City 81 Guest

    OK, I guess it's just different here. We have a full-time online staff which browses the comments and deletes offending ones. I know they've also banned people/IP addresses for being abusive.
     
    Chi City 81, Jan 1, 2008
    #19
  8. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    I'm impressed, Doc. The papers I read regularly seem to have absolutely no interest in such diligence. It's as if the higher-ups would rather have 200 comments on a story, even if 180 are them are complete bullsh*t, then filter them down to just the 20 coherent ones.
     
    playthrough, Jan 1, 2008
    #20
  9. Frank_Ridgeway

    Frank_Ridgeway Well-Known Member

    I actually don't like them. I'd rather see zero opinion, from staff or readers, in newspapers and on newspaper Web sites because readers now have a zillion places to vent and read the venting of others and very few places to read reasonably objective reporting from their locale.

    I raised the point of the reader comments because someone seemed to be making the point that if I lived in D.C., surely I'd agree with his viewpoint, and it seems to me that not all D.C. residents are of one mind on this topic.
     
    Frank_Ridgeway, Jan 1, 2008
    #21
  10. jlee

    jlee Well-Known Member

    The problem I have with it is that posts with nothing to do with the actual story (roughly 80 percent at my hometown paper; we don't have them at my shop) are probably not from actual readers.

    Letters to the editor, ombudsmen and guest columns have always been, to me, the most effective ways to represent the reader.
     
    jlee, Jan 1, 2008
    #22
  11. Cadet

    Cadet Guest

    I hate reader comments on stories. A very small percentage are actually contributing to the discussion at hand.

    If people would like to comment upon a story, they may do so in the time-honored tradition of the Letter to the Editor -- with their name signed at the bottom.

    If people would like to espouse their well-researched views, there's not a paper I know of that would decline to offer them space (within the parameters of published policies) on the OpEd page.

    But inviting "the public," which is already ripping us off by reading our content online for free instead of buying a paper, to comment anonymously in what inevitably turns into a pissing match forum is insane. And paying intelligent staff members to moderate that drivel instead of producing work of journalistic quality is a waste of resources.
     
    Cadet, Jan 2, 2008
    #23
  12. Chi City 81

    Chi City 81 Guest

    Not their only job at my paper, Cadet. Just one of them.
     
    Chi City 81, Jan 2, 2008
    #24
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