Local
journalism must engage the locals, so they have reasons to read the news.
One
way to do that is by allowing comments. On any news site, the comments often
inform me better than the reporting.
Sure,
some of the threads quickly devolve into mindlessness. But on most stories on
most regional news sites I looked at for this post, the comments were mostly thoughtful,
provocative, informative and worthwhile.
I
wish I could once again read comments on Reading Eagle articles. I want to hear
more opinions about issues and events in Berks County. But the Berks County
newspaper has dropped the feature.
Most
local news organizations allow readers to comment. Some post the number of
comments they get, proud of the measurable interaction with their readers.
These
journalistic enterprises invite reader comments:
- Allentown Morning Call
- Lancaster Intelligencer Journal
- Pennlive.com (Harrisburg)
- Pittsburgh Post Gazette
- Scranton Times
- Philly.com
- Pottsville Republican
- Daily Local News
- Pottstown Mercury
- WFMZ
On Oct 27, Reading Eagle Editor Harry Deitz
wrote:
“Online access provides an opportunity for constant dialogue regarding stories and issues. One thing that won't change on our site is our effort to keep that conversation civil.”
I
e-mailed Adam Richter, the newspaper’s online editor, to ask about the paper’s
comment policy, but he hasn’t replied.
The York
Dispatch and Erie are using Twitter and Facebook for feedback.
“We invite comments on the GoErie Facebook page and the GoErie Twitter feed. The company is currently reviewing its online comment policy for other platforms,” Liz Allen, public editor at Erie Times-News and www.GoErie.com, wrote me in an e-mail.
York
has a page to explain how to comment and its new policy.
“We are testing a new article commenting system in an effort to improve the quality of the discussion experience. To comment on an article, you must log in to Facebook or one of its registration partners: AOL, Yahoo and Hotmail. You then can choose to share the comment with your friends.”
“Q. Why did you make the switch to Facebook commenting?
“A. Commenting tends to be more robust and useful when commenters are easily identifiable.”
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