building the news community
DESCRIPTION
News site comments can be toxic. Yet, properly managed, they can be a tool for building media literacy, civic literacy and, ultimately, a news organization's audience.TRANSCRIPT
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Building the news community
Media literacy, civic engagementand journalism as a conversation
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The limits of media literacy
• How would you define it?
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The limits of media literacy
• Understanding how to separate reliable from unreliable information
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The limits of media literacy
• Understanding how to separate reliable from unreliable information
• Understanding the difference between important and trivial
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The limits of media literacy
• Understanding how to separate reliable from unreliable information
• Understanding the difference between important and trivial
• Understanding the difference betweenfact and opinion
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The limits of media literacy
• But what is the larger context? How can we convince our audience that these skills matter?
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Civic literacy supplies the context
• How would you define it?
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Civic literacy supplies the context
• Understanding the importance of local issues
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Civic literacy supplies the context
• Understanding the importance of local issues
• Understanding the importance of national and world issues
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Civic literacy supplies the context
• Understanding the importance of local issues
• Understanding the importance of national and world issues
• Understanding how local and global issues are interrelated
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Civic literacy supplies the context
• When people show an interest in civic life, they engage with the news
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The role of the “former audience”
• In New Haven, Batavia and elsewhere, inviting readers to the table
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The role of the “former audience”
• In New Haven, Batavia and elsewhere, inviting readers to the table
• Professional journalism and reader comments working together
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The role of the “former audience”
• In New Haven, Batavia and elsewhere, inviting readers to the table
• Professional journalism and reader comments working together
• If you don’t tend the garden, the weeds will soon sprout up
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The price of free speech
• The Register put comments up automatically and depended on the crowd to report offensive ones
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The price of free speech
• The Register put comments up automatically and depended on the crowd to report offensive ones– “these shootings save the taxpayers millions … not only in
welfare costs but in section 8, food stamps, health care. it is time to consider sterilization …”
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The price of free speech
• The Register put comments up automatically and depended on the crowd to report offensive ones
• African-Americans felt alienated from the Register and cited racist comments as a prime reason
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The price of free speech
• The Register put comments up automatically and depended on the crowd to report offensive ones
• African-Americans felt alienated from the Register and cited racist comments as a prime reason
• A new editor, Matt DeRienzo, ordered that all comments be screened before being posted
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A better approach
• Paul Bass’ warning to his audience: “Yes we do censor reader comments. We’ll continue to.”
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A better approach
• Paul Bass’ warning to his audience: “Yes we do censor reader comments. We’ll continue to.”
• Anonymity is allowed, but racist, sexist and personally insulting comments are not posted
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A better approach
• Paul Bass’ warning to his audience: “Yes we do censor reader comments. We’ll continue to.”
• Anonymity is allowed, but racist, sexist and personally insulting comments are not posted
• A civil conversation that often adds to the story and that fosters civic engagement — a virtuous circle
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Crowdsourced reporting
• Residents post on SeeClickFix to complain about an ugly building
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Crowdsourced reporting
• Residents post on SeeClickFix to complain about an ugly building
• The Independentsees complaintsand covers the story
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Crowdsourced reporting
• Residents post on SeeClickFix to complain about an ugly building
• The Independentsees complaintsand covers the story
• Another 24 comments are posted at the Independent
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Why journalism matters
• New Haven man seriously injuredin possible assault
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Why journalism matters
• New Haven man seriously injuredin possible assault
• Reddit poster falsely claims it was “justicefor Treyvon” [sic]
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Why journalism matters
• New Haven man seriously injuredin possible assault
• Reddit poster falsely claims it was “justicefor Treyvon” [sic]
• Similar to Reddit rumors about marathon bombing suspect
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The Indy’s moment of crisis
• Nasty mayoral campaign and its aftermath broke system
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The Indy’s moment of crisis
• Nasty mayoral campaign and its aftermath broke system
• A crude comment about Mayor DeStefano (right) was accidentally posted
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The Indy’s moment of crisis
• Nasty mayoral campaign and its aftermath broke system
• A crude comment about Mayor DeStefano (right) was accidentally posted
• Comments were shut down, later reopened with new rules
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Anonymity versus real names
• Howard Owens requires registration and real names at his community news site in western New York
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Anonymity versus real names
• Howard Owens requires registration and real names at his community news site in western New York
• “It starts with basic news ethics: Readers have a right to know who is saying what.”
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Anonymity versus real names
• Howard Owens requires registration and real names at his community news site in western New York
• “It starts with basic news ethics: Readers have a right to know who is saying what.”
• But Paul Bass believes he would lose police officers, teachers and other community stakeholders
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Dan Gillmor
“If I could design a comment system, I would put all anonymous comments at the thread’s end, and give the site owner an easy way to move good comments higher. I’d also give users a way to make anonymous comments invisible.”
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danah boyd
“The people who most heavily rely on pseudonyms in online spaces are those who are most marginalized by systems of power. ‘Real names’ policies aren’t empowering; they’re an authoritarian assertion of power over vulnerable people.”
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What would you do?
Would you allow anonymous comments or require real names?
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Comments are so 2005
• Facebook fosters civil dialogue in a familiar, real-names space
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Comments are so 2005
• Facebook fosters civil dialogue in a familiar, real-names space
• Twitter allows reporters to promote work and engage with users
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Comments are so 2005
• Facebook fosters civil dialogue in a familiar, real-names space
• Twitter allows reporters to promote work and engage with users
• Have traditional news-site comments outlived their usefulness?
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Permissions
• (cc) 2013 by Dan Kennedy. You are free to use this presentation under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution/Noncommercial/Share Alike 3.0 license, which is online at http://bit.ly/2oyXPN
• If I have used your copyrighted work inadvertently, please contact me at [email protected]
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Dan KennedySchool of Journalism
College of Arts, Media and DesignNortheastern University
Boston
2013