Zombie Journalism

A Massachusetts newspaper is banning anonymous comments by charging for the privilege. This seems like overkill – and it can eliminate important discussion.

I’m not sure where newspaper execs are getting their PR advice these days, but whoever/whatever it is needs to be fired. The print news sector has put out some head-shaking proclamations this week – all of which have a common theme of holier-than-thou insults directed at online news consumers.
First up is the absolutely appalling handling [...]

The federal government wants to help save journalism, but journalism doesn’t need saving. Old media needs saving, and they shouldn’t be given a lifeline.

Allbritton’s Washington, D.C. metro site will be named TBD – and I think it’s perfect. News at the start of the reporting process is “to be determined” – and that’s exactly where readers should come in.

Poynter had a talk with Jim Brady, president of digital strategy at Allbritton and my future boss, about the as-yet-unnamed metro site I’ll be working on in Washington, D.C. starting next month.
Brady outlines the site’s coverage plan, which is, essentially, a bit of the umbrella (regional news readers care about) and the microscope (community-level news). [...]

For months now, I have been excitedly following the developing news of Allbritton’s local news site. As the parent company of Politico, many online types have hopes this as-yet-unnamed project can revitalize online news – and maybe give the Washington Post a run for their money.
I’m proud to say that as of today, I’m going [...]

I’ve seen a lot of newsroom culture shifts in my admittedly young career, but the online deadline of now seems to be the biggest gap to cross. Many editors and reporters don’t think there even IS competition anymore.

Would newspaper editors be likely to eliminate anonymous commenting from their websites if they knew how much it would bring down page views?

If news websites were to get rid of anonymous comments, we may be eliminating the opinions of some very valuable (and young) readers.

We as an industry like to collectively wring our hands about the toxicity of online comment boards, but if we really want to improve the quality of on-site discussion we need to be willing to get involved in our sites in a hands-on manner. No amount of filters, comment-detecting robots and user-end moderation will replace the presence of a dutiful moderator.