. . . when Hairspray star Ricki Lake is pitted against journalist Tim Russert, standards change big-time! Ithaca Journal Publisher Monte Trammer says he's seen some negative reaction in the year since the paper started letting readers leave anonymous online comments on stories through Gannett's StoryChat feature.But Trammer, who also is publisher of the Star-Gazette in Elmira, N.Y., says readers treat StoryChat for what it is: unedited, unverified postings, mostly by anonymous users. "It's nice to have standards, and we all do, but once we decide that we're going to allow the public a voice, we have to allow the public its voice,'' he tells the Journal.
Trammer compares StoryChat vs. the print paper to the Ricki Lake Show vs. Meet the Press, hosted by journalist Russert. "The fact that the Ricki Lake Show is not like Meet the Press doesn't mean we shouldn't have the Ricki Lake Show,'' he says. "It just means that if we're gonna tune in, we shouldn't go to Ricki Lake expecting Meet the Press. We go to Ricki Lake and we get what it is. And that's where we have to be with StoryChat."
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.[Images: Russert, NBC; Lake, Flickr member blackmothra. Hat tip, Romenesko]
The fact that the publisher of a Gannett newspaper is comparing this innovative feature to a talk show that went off the air 3 1/2 years ago is priceless. If that doesn't epitomize our growing irrelevancy -- and how out-of-touch the management in this company is when it comes to the fast-moving winds of change -- I don't know what else could.
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ReplyDeleteRegarding the following story:
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=71012
"Fort De Soto Park, Florida -- New information has been released regarding the sperm whale that came into the mouth of Tampa Bay over the weekend."