Indiana's Ruth Holladay is "a great fan of free speech and the First Amendment.'' But the online reader comments called TalkBack on the Indianapolis Star's website are "ridiculous," she says. "It's an anything goes mentality, and the Star is too big -- and presumably too responsible -- to permit such drivel."For yours truly, it continues to be a mystery: Gannett chooses to cheapen its websites, muddying facts with too-often fiction, by allowing mostly unmoderated reader comments. Is it really worth that price for free content and more pageviews? Star Editor Dennis Ryerson tackles the issue today in this column. At least one reader, commenting on Ryerson's column, sides with Holladay and me: "The whole TalkBack idea was obviously conceived by folks who had no experience in administering and moderating an online forum."
Got an offensive or just-plain-crazy comment that made it past your Gannett site's filters? Use this link to e-mail Commentz Korner suggestions. See Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the sidebar, upper right. Or leave a note in the moderated comments section, below.[Image: this morning's Star, Newseum]
No comments:
Post a Comment
Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.