The New News
It’s nothing new to get your news online. Whether it’s local, national or international, newspapers have used the internet as an extension of their printed product. Over the last decade newspapers in general have seen a decline in the number of print subscriptions sold and are trying new features and services online to compensate for the decline in readership.
One feature I see being implemented lately is a larger community approach to local newspaper websites. Specifically allowing commenting on news articles. Is this a good idea? In implementing this feature, I see a shift from un-opinionated news article to glorified blog. Which is fine. Blogs are good, but most newspaper websites already have them, complete with comment capabilities.
Another great question to consider is: what value does this actually provide to the newspaper and also to the reader?
newspaper, community, commenting
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If nothing else, I think a system that allows readers to “comment” on an article creates a healthy dialog between the writer and the reader. After all, EVERYBODY has an opinion. Ultimately though, it seems like the commenters start commenting on the other commenter’s comments, and big ol’ “comment wars” get started.
Still, I think comments are a good thing. That being said, I think a wise moderator is a good thing, too.
It’ll be interesting to see how these newspapers approach comments in regards to the first amendment.