19 Qs and As from ASNE’s story comment webinar
On March 31, the American Society of Newspaper Editors presented a webinar for editors and publishers focused on story comments, the cover story of the most recent edition of The American Editor. I wrote a column to complement the cover story and was a co-presenter of the webinar with Saundra Keyes, author of the cover story and professor of journalism at the Reynold School of Journalism at the University of Nevada. Here are the questions participants asked — and our answers.
What do you say to those in the newsroom who believe comments reflect badly on our publication?
Kurt says: I remind them that a relatively small percentage of the thousands of comments we get are distasteful. Most of the comments are on point, cogent and worthwhile. I welcome their help in reporting the bad comments so we can deal with them, and I remind them that this is part of the culture of our business now. Commenting and discussion will happen somewhere, whether it happens on our site or not. They should take some responsibility for helping maintain the quality.
Saundra says: I say those people are often right. We’ve made it possible for people to anonymously post inaccurate and sometimes damaging comments. In doing so, we’re abandoning standards of accuracy and accountability that have long distinguished journalism from other forms of public communication. We know these postings are here to stay, and that at their best, they add value. So the question is what we can do to make them better. Read more
Interesting stuff I saw online, Mar. 24 to Mar. 30
Here’s some of the stuff I thought was interesting while stomping through the Internet from Mar. 24 through Mar. 30:
- Newspapers Fail To Harness Readers' Social Power – MarketingVOX – From Gartner Group: "In the face of declining circulations, falling offline and online revenue, and competition from digital sources, newspapers have not taken adequate steps to integrate social media tools into their content management 'ecosystem,' the report said, adding that the most important task for newspapers now is to prioritize the integration of social media into a current or future content management system."
- Top 20 Ways to Share a Great Blog Post – Mashable: "Luckily, there’s no shortage of ways to spread the word. Blogs, social networks, instant messenger, and mobile phones are some of the many ways to let others know about the best content on the web."
- Using Social Media to Reach Young Readers – Nieman reports: "We also realized that her story would be of great interest to the community and her college-aged peers in particular, most of whom don’t read the daily newspaper. So we had to find different ways of reporting and bringing the story to them."
- Newspapers: 5 Ways to Avoid Extinction – "Following these five business practices may not solve all the problems. Each newspaper has its own personality, formed by the relationship between its journalists and readers, and governed by forces that extend beyond the marketplace. It’s up to each publisher to consider the options and make decisions. Doing nothing is not an option."
Kurt's Tweets- Realizing how woefully out of touch I have been with this part of the county. (@ Saint Louis Bread Company) http://4sq.com/5z5Bfh
- Just had my first Gmail phone call -- with my parents -- and the quality was fantastic. Wow. http://tcrn.ch/a8GndI
- Another day, another interview. Fingers crossed. (@ Saint Louis Bread Co) http://4sq.com/avGImL
- Helping my son learn the first 20 elements on the periodic table. Disturbed by how many more elements there are since I studied this stuff.
- Giving blood. (@ St. Martin's Episcopal Church) http://4sq.com/aiWuEk