ANDREW BEAUJON
Researchers from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) spoke with online editors and community managers at 104 news organizations from 63 countries to help assemble a report written by Emma Goodman about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to online comments.
Many said stories about politics attracted the most high-quality comments. Several respondents, however, said such stories are “the type of articles that attract the worst comments.”
Sebastian Horn from Germany’s Die Zeit cited “anything that is technical in nature” as a good-comment magnet. But a respondent from The Dallas Morning News told the organization most people in its newsroom “are not interested in comments or feel they’re a necessary evil.”
On average, respondents said they deleted 11 percent of comments. But few organizations view moderation as a chance to do more with the remaining comments.
“Your most frequent commenters are your best customers,” The Seattle Times’ Bob Payne told researchers.
Seventy-one percent of respondents said they block commenters who violate their rules. The Winnipeg Free Press said it uses “what we call a bozo filter” to block trolls: Such posters still see “their comments but no one else does.” The New York Times’ Bassey Etim says the organization has blocked people “maybe once or twice in our history.”
The report recommends best practices for publishers, including hiring a community manager and encouraging journalists to join discussions. Publications should also try to “protect minority opinions,” it says: “If a publication moderates actively, they can use this procedure to ensure that minority voices aren’t continuously drowned out.”
Indian River Guardian 