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Comments are dead - Andrew Losowsky – a journalist who is project lead on the Coral Project

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Comments are dead - Andrew Losowsky – a journalist who is project lead on the Coral Project

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“The word ‘comments’ has come to mean toxic space, harassment, overwhelmingly young white male, a lot of abuse, people showing no respect, no compassion and no empathy,” says Losowsky,
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jan/31/online-comments-toxic-interaction-racism-harassment

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newspaper groups like The Telegraph will be mindful of the downsides of allowing readers to have their say. Unless they’ve got the resources to retain a team of moderators, who in turn can refer tricky comments to a lawyer, they expose themselves to the risk of a libel action.

Turning comments off might, then, save a paper money, whether in paying out legal claims or paying for moderators.

Meanwhile, for those who prefer to let their readers comment, it pays to keep a close eye on what they’re saying. No one likes censorship, least of all those who work in the media, but no one wants to be sued, either.

http://www.legalcheek.com/2016/02/comment-is-free-but-it-can-be-costly/

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https://www.efa.org.au/Issues/Censor/defamation.html

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Love them or hate them, BTL comments have changed journalism forever

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Love them or hate them, BTL comments have changed journalism forever

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There is no doubt that “below-the-line comments” as a form of participatory journalism have transformed the relationship between reader and journalist. As Alfred Hermida has pointed out: “Journalists who have long cultivated a professional distance from their readers and sources find themselves integrated into a network into which the distances have collapsed.”

https://theconversation.com/love-them-or-hate-them-btl-comments-have-changed-journalism-forever-33816

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Why some publishers are killing their comment section  -  issues of Anonymity and media law

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Why some publishers are killing their comment section  -  issues of Anonymity and media law

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Huffington Post, something of a poster child for unpleasant comment sections, said in December that it would force commenters to use their Facebook accounts and real names in order to comment on stories — all in the hopes of improving the comment quality. Readers who wanted to reserve the right to comment anonymously had to “appeal” for the right to do so.

That system, however, wasn’t particularly well-received by The Huffington Post’s readers, who said that the system would give Facebook too much reader data and limited readers’ ability to speak freely. “I think this is a horrible, horrible idea. Being able to express an opinion in anonymity, without fear is one of the best things about the internet,” one Huffington Post reader wrote at the time.

http://digiday.com/publishers/comments-sections/

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At their best, comment threads are thoughtful, enlightening, funny: online communities where readers interact with journalists and others in ways that enrich the Guardian’s journalism.

But at their worst, they are something else entirely.

New research into our own comment threads provides the first quantitative evidence for what female journalists have long suspected: that articles written by women attract more abuse and dismissive trolling than those written by men, regardless of what the article is about.

Although the majority of our regular opinion writers are white men, we found that those who experienced the highest levels of abuse and dismissive trolling were not. The 10 regular writers who got the most abuse were eight women (four white and four non-white) and two black men. Two of the women and one of the men were gay. And of the eight women in the “top 10”, one was Muslim and one Jewish.

And the 10 regular writers who got the least abuse? All men.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/apr/12/the-dark-side-of-guardian-comments

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Guide to Crowdsourcing -  from the Tow Centre for Digital journalism:

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Guide to Crowdsourcing -  from the Tow Centre for Digital journalism:

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Definition and Typologies

Our definition: Journalism crowdsourcing is the act of specifically inviting a group of people to participate in a reporting task—such as newsgathering, data collection, or analysis—through a targeted, open call for input; personal experiences; documents; or other contributions.

Using that definition, most crowdsourcing generally takes two forms:

An unstructured call-out, which is an open invitation to vote, email, call, or otherwise contact a journalist with information.

A structured call-out, which engages in targeted outreach to ask people to respond to a specific request. Responses can enter a newsroom via multiple channels, including email, SMS, a website, or Google form. Often, they are captured in a searchable database.

We argue that crowdsourcing requires a specific call-out. If a newsroom simply harvests information or content available on the social web, we don’t believe this constitutes crowdsourcing. For us, the people engaging in crowdsourcing need to feel they have agency in contributing to a news story.

We acknowledge that crowdsourcing efforts don’t fit neatly into discrete classification, but for the purpose of this report, we’ve organized our typologies into six different calls to action:

Voting—prioritizing which stories reporters should tackle.

Witnessing—sharing what you saw during a news event.

Sharing personal experiences—telling what you know about your life experience.

Tapping specialized expertise—contributing data or unique knowledge.

Completing a task—volunteering time or skills to help create a news story.

Engaging audiences—joining in call-outs that can range from informative to playful.

http://towcenter.org/research/guide-to-crowdsourcing/

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https://blog.coralproject.net/product-ask/

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Quickly it becomes apparent that, in the squeaky clean corporate world, anything contentious gets removed without a second thought. Only occasionally does Kitchener need to exercise judgment. "Maybe the word 'drugs' has been highlighted and it might be fine," she says. "But it might be that someone's said, 'Oh, one of the presenters looks like they're on drugs today.'" Momentarily I find it difficult to shake this image. "Obviously we'd have to remove that," she says firmly.

While most of her work is taken up with weeding out mild offence, there are also times, especially on a topical discussion show like This Morning, when the conversation can take a darker turn.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/feb/03/a-working-life-website-moderator

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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-31/abc-explores-secret-tunnels-under-canberra/7098382

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Five ways journalists can engage their audiences in storytelling

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Five ways journalists can engage their audiences in storytelling

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A few tips from IJNet on how journalists can create more engaged audiences without relying on a flood of social media posts promoting new content:

1.) Engage with your audience before publishing

Open up your newsroom to people who want to ask questions and contribute story ideas. More perspectives and more diverse ideas will better serve your community, especially in newsrooms that are still not representative of the populations they serve.

“Ultimately, no matter how good your intentions, no matter how smart you are, how fair-minded or thoughtful and everything, you’re limited,” Brandel said. She suggested investing more power in the hands of audiences when it comes to thinking up story ideas — a practice that could also help smaller newsrooms where journalists face time restraints.

2.) Create a direct relationship

Don’t be too reliant on social media such as Facebook and Instagram, as you’re not in control of theirchanging algorithms. Instead, build a direct relationship with your audience. Brandel advises using email addresses.

For example, when people ask a question or vote through the Hearken platform, they have the option to give their email addresses. They can also opt in for a newsletter.

“Our approach moves toward a world where young people and news brands have more of a direct relationship,” she said.

3.) Reward audiences

Brandel said she is convinced audiences are not passive news consumers.

“I fully believe that there are people out there who would love to participate, love to be heard, love to contribute productively to the newsroom,” she said.

However, be careful. Some media organizations ask a lot from their audience without ever acknowledging their help and informing them of what they’re doing with their contribution. Do the opposite and reward your audience for participating. Ask for something small that doesn’t take too much time. Keep them involved and updated on what happened thanks to their help.

“People will do lots of things for attention,” said Brandel. So give people their moment of fame on social media and credit them for their contribution.

4.) Adapt to your community

“Fundamentally, human beings are curious, no matter where they live or where they come from,” said Brandel.

However, be aware of cultural differences when adapting to your specific audience. When Hearken partnered with Finland’s YLE, Brandel learned that Finnish audiences are more reticent to be mentioned and rewarded publicly. In contrast, Americans are particularly excited to be featured.

5.) Show the “behind the scenes”

Brandel also recommended involving your audiences and showing them what journalism is like.

“[Journalists] just assume people know the story took three months and 50 interviews,” she said. "They don’t go out and say ‘We’re giving you a Rolls-Royce piece of journalism right now.’ They could do a better job making that clear.”

Explain to your audiences why paying for their news can be necessary to produce quality journalism and maintain a healthy democracy. In a recent global survey of news consumers by the Reuters Institute, 67 percent of those surveyed said they would not pay for online news, whatever the price, in the U.S. It goes up to 75 percent in the U.K.

Spend that time developing trustful relationships with your audiences — especially in the U.S., wherelack of trust is a real problem for media.

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http://www.wearehearken.com/

http://www.wearehearken.com/framework/

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NPR is retiring the comments section on its story pages (because of disuse, not just trolling)

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NPR is retiring the comments section on its story pages (because of disuse, not just trolling)

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From NPR:

In the eight years since NPR first launched its online comment section, the world of social media has changed dramatically, as has NPR's digital presence. We're constantly asking ourselves where we can create the best dialogue with you and how we can deepen that relationship. It's a question we will keep asking because the way we communicate online will keep changing.

We believe strongly in the value of audience conversations about the news and our work and we also believe in adapting as tools and technologies evolve. We see these as the best outlets for our community engagement:

Social media is now one of our most powerful sources for audience interaction. Our desks and programs run more than 30 Facebook pages and more than 50 Twitter accounts. We maintain vibrant presences on Snapchat, Instagram and Tumblr. Our main Facebook page reaches more than 5 million people and recently has been the springboard for hundreds of hours of live video interaction and audience-first projects such as our 18,000-member"Your Money and Your Life" group.

In addition to desk and program accounts, our journalists discuss their work on hundreds of personal social channels. As their NPR.org bylines link to these platforms, our hosts, reporters, editors and producers talk with listeners and readers every day to improve our reporting.

Our reporters regularly use social channels to seek help with our work, from reporting on biker gangs in Texas to finding stories you want to hear about Los Angeles. Also, our research team regularly conducts surveys on behalf of our editorial leadership, aiming to understand what's working for you and to help important NPR diversity efforts.

We've taken our special engagement events to new levels with the Tiny Desk Contest andGeneration Listen. This year's Tiny Desk Contest received more than 6,000 entries and introduced the world to winner Gaelynn Lea. Meanwhile, our journalists regularly visit Generation Listen gatherings, connecting with the next generation of public radio fans at NPR Member Stations around the country.

We have an entire team devoted to Audience Relations, who read and personally respond to thousands of listener emails every month. This indispensable forum fields your most substantive feedback and questions and allows us space to provide equally substantive answers. Our help.npr.org site works across platforms and is always open for your questions and concerns.

NPR also is one of the few major news organizations to employ a full-time Ombudsman, an independent mediator who reports on the standards and ethics of NPR's work and who writes a running blog about issues you raise.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thisisnpr/2016/08/17/490208179/beyond-comments-finding-better-ways-to-connect-with-you

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Tools for coping with below the line comments:

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Tools for coping with below the line comments:

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http://www.niemanlab.org/2016/09/new-from-the-coral-project-a-tool-for-collecting-reader-contributions-and-a-comments-lab-to-model-comment-spaces-online/