By Gary Graham
The Spokesman-Review
The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper managers and editors
strongly support online comments about their daily content and most are
unlikely to ban comments, but that doesn't mean they are satisfied with the
quality and tone of comments.
An APME Sounding Board survey of
newspaper editors, publishers and online editors in April drew 101 responses
and 94 percent of the group reported that they consistently allow comments.
Many of the respondents said they believe allowing comments is important to
encourage community discussions in a public forum.
Editors were critical of the
general nature of comments because, in their view, comments are too often
negative, off the topic, uninformed and lacking civility. Several editors said
a small number of individuals tend to dominate the online conversation.
Asked how likely is it that their
organizations will ban online commenting, 71 percent said it is unlikely and
another 11 percent said they never would. Nine percent said it is very
likely they will ban all comments and another 8 percent said such a step is
likely. While the majority of editors who responded said they are not inclined
to eliminate all comments on their sites, many attempt to ban readers who
consistently abuse the website's policies on commenting or ignore the standards
altogether. One editor said the comments don't reflect poorly on the website
and that editors should spend less time worrying about the nature of the
comments.
Fifty-five percent of those
responding said they place a moderate amount of value on commenting and another
14 percent said they placed a great deal of value on it. Editors said the
comments are beneficial because they encourage an exchange of ideas and that
readers often have suggestions for follow-up stories or point out inaccuracies.
The editors surveyed seemed
relatively split on the issue of allowing anonymous comments. Fifty-four
percent do not allow anonymous postings, but 46 percent do. Only 38 percent of
the news organizations require commenters to identify themselves by first and
last name. Several editors noted they restrict commenting to online or
print subscribers.
More than half, 56 percent, use a
comment-hosting service. Of those services, Facebook appeared to be the most
popular with 61 percent of the editors using it, followed by Disqus with 21
percent. Only 12 percent of the editors report the comments are monitored by
staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Twenty-seven percent monitor comments
13 to 16 hours a day, while 15 percent monitor only two to four hours daily.
Editors who only allow commenting
through Facebook said the Facebook emphasis on using a first and/or last name
has resulted in a slight improvement in the level of community conversation,
but others noted many commenters don't seem concerned about the lack of anonymity.
Several editors who responded said
that in a time of diminishing newsroom resources they are concerned about the
amount of staff time required to moderate the comments. One editor requires
that all comments be reviewed and cleared by an editor before they are posted
on the newspaper's website.
