From Paul Gillin's new post at Newspaper Death Watch (third item) about Gannett Blog Editor Jim Hopkins:
Blogs have a feature called comments that enables visitors to state their opinions directly, without a media filter. If Gannett would start engaging with readers through comments, it would win sympathy just for listening, regardless of whether Hopkins agreed or not.
There's plenty of evidence that engagement works. About 18 months ago, Dell Computer reversed its practice of ignoring blogger commentary and adopted a new policy of responding to each and every post, whether positive or negative. The initiative reduced negative commentary from 50% to 20% in a little less than a year.
Monday, February 23, 2009
9 comments:
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."
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Agreed. Hands down. No matter how "ahead of the curve" they think they are, I continue to believe that Gannett is losing ground because its leaders refuse to acknowledge or truly notice what PEOPLE are doing in the world going on around them.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. The problem with most newspapers, from my non-Gannett newsroom experience, is those running and working in newspapers tend to think they know what's best for the readers. Now that I'm a member of that group, I realize how short-sighted and just plain silly that notion really is.
ReplyDeleteNewspaper people are the worst about being the subject of journalism.
ReplyDeleteKaren Moreno did try to engage in the comments a few weeks ago and that did not go very far.
ReplyDeleteNo middle line with this audience. That's why responding might work with the Dell audience, but not know-it-all journalists who believe they each have the right answer.
ReplyDeleteComcast recently reversed course, too, and started responding to the complaints, and the results seem to be positive so far.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/17-02/mf_brianroberts
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous@9 p.m. posted a comment that I've removed, and am now reposting, below, with unnecessarily inflammatory language edited out; "bitch" is one of the very few words I do not allow.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. This blog would be half as effective if they actually worked with you Jim and engaged you. The fact that . . . Connell and Martore ignore you and the few thousand employees that visit this blog each day is unconscionable.
THEY created this monster we all call "Jim's Blog". The arrogance of these leaders is amazing.
Gannett leadership as whole chooses to ignore any conflict or criticism from the outside. Ask Reps. Frank Pallone and Chris Smith, who repeatedly called and requested meetings with Tom Donovan after the Asbury Park Press cut John Geiser loose. They were flatly refused. Other members of the hierarchy refused to even answer their phones.
ReplyDelete