Is This "The Dish" ? Putting It Out There To A Passive Audience> Can You Take It?

Everyone seems to hate online reader comments. Here’s why I treasure them.
By Margaret Sullivan Media Columnist Washington Post 

Style September 4

 

Ms. Sullivan [to quote] "I find value in reader comments that can’t be adequately reproduced elsewhere. The argument that the conversation has migrated to Facebook and Twitter is flawed. Those are good places for discussion, but they are no substitute for having discussion take place where the story itself lives. I’m convinced that many smart readers with something to contribute will not follow a story onto social media to talk about it. News organizations should fix online comments rather than ditch them.

They need fixing, for sure ..."

Of course, I also got response on Twitter and Facebook, and in an endless flow of emails, but commenters provided some of the most thoughtful feedback and discussion. . .
They can be pretty snarky as well as good-natured. . . for example, this comment from one Humahumahummus1: “Oh honey, that was the end game all along. You need to be quicker than that. The rest of us could see it coming a mile away.” I’ve also been called every nickname for Margaret — and I’ve been called a few other choice names, too.
But I find the feedback worth having. It’s far different — certainly more varied — than response on Twitter, where many journalists congregate to talk shop, or on Facebook, which can become an echo chamber of like-minded friends reinforcing one another’s beliefs. . .

These platforms are clearly providing us greater access to new audiences, but they’ve also made it easier than ever to insulate ourselves from ideas that differ from our own,” said Amanda Zamora, chief audience officer for the Texas Tribune, who spoke last week at a Poynter Institute confab on 10 years of participatory journalism.
She took it further: “By abandoning comments, news organizations are not only giving up an important role in shaping public discourse — they are giving up a key avenue toward having direct, sustainable relationships with their audiences.”

But at a time when many news organizations are struggling to survive, improving comments is worthwhile work. They can help build community, right on our own sites, and finally get past the idea of readers as passive audiences who have to take what we dish out.

For more by Margaret Sullivan visit wapo.st/sullivan