"Comments" section for stories: Why are they allowed?

[Boognish]

Page views. Page views. Page views. People like trash news, trainwreck comment arguments, pets and photo galleries of borderline soft porn. I've seen it start to dictate coverage paper-wide. As long as execs are on the quest for knockout page view numbers to send back up the chain of command, I'd say get used to it.

 

[sportschick]

I've could hit the paper where it hurts: Most advertisers have e-mail addresses. I could easily cut and paste the "comments" on the cheers for people who die in accidents and e-mail them to the advertisers saying this is the filth that you're advertising in, their online site. This paper approves of these comments and said it has no control over it because it is not "their content."

Just be sure to send a follow-up email to all the print-side people at the newspaper whose jobs you cost them when the online advertising falls off. Because that's who will lose a job.

Most of the print-side people would like the comments to die a quick death.

 

[deskslave]

You have to stop equating the two. It's a different world, with different rules.

It has as much in common with the editorial page as a columnist's personal email back-and-forth has to do with what he or she files every couple of days.

And they shouldn't have to hire anyone. Webmasters should be able to handle the workload, and I wonder how much laziness and making excuses comes into play.

Yeah, Webmasters are typically the laziest people in the newsroom. :

Its being new does not automatically make something better.

And the line of reasoning that "well, it's just one libelous comment; as long as you catch the others, no one will be upset" seems akin to saying that it's OK if one libelous story makes it through as long as you catch all the others.

Just be sure to send a follow-up email to all the print-side people at the newspaper whose jobs you cost them when the online advertising falls off. Because that's who will lose a job.

There are curbs that have a more dramatic falloff than is possible in most newspapers' online advertising.

It has as much in common with the editorial page as a columnist's personal email back-and-forth has to do with what he or she files every couple of days.

Except what's in that personal e-mail isn't disseminated publicly, is it?

 

[KG]

We ran a story about one guy, then people who knew the girls he had been around most posted their My Space address in a comment and they were "outed" despite our policy not to identify those girls because they were victims of a sex crime.

That is terrible.

 

[Ace]

Offensive messages should be tracked, the name found, and address, and those printed.
That'll stop their gob.

I think a great story would be to go interview a handful of folks who are always spouting off on message boards. Do a story on what they do, take a photo, etc.

 

[usedtoBinthebiz]

Love Ace's idea ... still more dirt-bag posts ridiculing the death of the teacher and The Idaho Statesman won't edit it or delete posts. We are 24 hours after the fact and the newspaper just lets it roll. I wonder if these dumb-a$$ advertisers know where they're putting their money. There's some bad radio out there, but if someone were to call in ridiculing a local death, they would be cut off. Newspapers let it roll because of more "hits."

Why not just become a porn magazine then? Your readership will skyrocket, your cyber-hits will go through the roof. Journalism be damned. If it's all about hits, just go into cyber-porn.

 

[JakeandElwood]

A name, phone number, email and address should be required for comments. People will hold back if their name is actually out there.

 

[usedtoBinthebiz]

Correct Jake and Elwood, a simple registration with a verified name and phone number -- which will take extra time to check -- would clean out the slime. Why not do that? And then put a note at the top that the comments may be used for letters to the editor of the print edition. We'll see how the cowards react then.

But the paper refuses to clean it up, claiming it is not "their content." It is, it's on their site.

 

[JakeandElwood]

Correct Jake and Elwood, a simple registration with a verified name and phone number -- which will take extra time to check -- would clean out the slime. Why not do that? And then put a note at the top that the comments may be used for letters to the editor of the print edition. We'll see how the cowards react then.

But the paper refuses to clean it up, claiming it is not "their content." It is, it's on their site.

Another solution that I saw a different paper using was instead of having comments, it provided a link underneath the story to submit a letter to the editor. Sure there's no "discussion" that way, but it still encourages reader feedback.

 

[txsportsscribe]

Correct Jake and Elwood, a simple registration with a verified name and phone number -- which will take extra time to check -- would clean out the slime. Why not do that? And then put a note at the top that the comments may be used for letters to the editor of the print edition. We'll see how the cowards react then.

But the paper refuses to clean it up, claiming it is not "their content." It is, it's on their site.

Another solution that I saw a different paper using was instead of having comments, it provided a link underneath the story to submit a letter to the editor. Sure there's no "discussion" that way, but it still encourages reader feedback.

except the bean counters don't care about reader feedback that doesn't drive up traffic and, thus, drive up ad revenue.

 

[SF_Express]

Message boards are a big part of our place, and you live with the good and the bad. And offensive things are reported and deleted.

They're not going anywhere here, that's for sure.

 

[usedtoBinthebiz]

If the bean counters don't care, go into porn. Porn is recession proof and a lot more profitable than newspapers. If content doesn't matter, do porn, just don't pretend to care about journalism. It's a strange day when I have more respect for Heffner and Flynt than I do many newspaper people.

At least they're honest about their intentions.

How dumb are these bean counters? Why are they counting beans for newspapers and not in the porn business? Morons.

 

[JakeandElwood]

Correct Jake and Elwood, a simple registration with a verified name and phone number -- which will take extra time to check -- would clean out the slime. Why not do that? And then put a note at the top that the comments may be used for letters to the editor of the print edition. We'll see how the cowards react then.

But the paper refuses to clean it up, claiming it is not "their content." It is, it's on their site.

Another solution that I saw a different paper using was instead of having comments, it provided a link underneath the story to submit a letter to the editor. Sure there's no "discussion" that way, but it still encourages reader feedback.

except the bean counters don't care about reader feedback that doesn't drive up traffic and, thus, drive up ad revenue.

Well, yeah. Heaven forbid the better journalistic solution win out though.