JS slowly entering 21st century
I have been remiss in my duties.
I should have noted last week that the
It’s a huge step forward. The Web offers news organizations a level of interactivity not available in any other medium. Letting readers comment on articles directly — apparently without approval, as mine appear instantly without confirmation of identity — is a huge statement by the JS that it is going to treat their readers like adults who don’t need every single bit of information filtered.
Even forum letters and editorials are open for comment.
Kudos to the Journal Star. In a way, allowing comments to articles is stepping over the line separating the old-school, top-down style journalism from new school, new media journalism that acknowledges that the public needs to have a role in what is being written about them. Ivory-tower journalism can’t exist in an environment in which the peons and serfs have their say too. It’s a psychological threshold that’s been crossed, too. No editor can sign off on an article, content that the final word has been written. Greater accuracy, fairness and inclusiveness of multiple opinions will be necessary lest a price be paid in the comments section.
Commenters will also demand more transparency, so now might be a good time to start considering the viability of the
And it isn’t just about allowing readers to criticize articles. Do not discount the ability of the public to provide valuable information and insight. I’ve learned a lot from my commenters and have occasionally have had my opinions changed.
Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
Maybe you can get a job with the new owners of the PJS as the head of “Blogging Technologies” and fully integrate blogging into their approach to providing the news. Then you could achieve your goal of earning a living from blogging.
I would think that you could learn to love working for D.R. to achieve your dream.
I’m amazed, frankly, that the powers that be would relinquish their control. MY guess is that the online audience is quite small. It’s a step in the right direction, a small one.
Do you think any good comments will come out? The Pantagraph has done this for about a year now and it’ snothing but flaming of each other and the two towns. In fact, just last week the online editor published an editorial that they were going to try and “clean up” the comments by deleting comments where name calling was happening.
Of course at least at PJStar, they ask for an email. You can put in any name you want at the Pantagraph. And many do. I hope it works out for PJStar.
Half sister paper in SPD has this and I would guess what prompted the powers-to-be to finally update the pjs. The football articles (SHG vs. the world) generate interesting reading. AND page visits which this internet is all about. All about visits and clickouts for $$.
Good for them, its the way to go, in my opinion. Its really extending a lifeline to the online community. If they are not selling as much newspapers and they get a fair amount of internet traffic, then, allowing comments is a great step forward. They could expect to generate more traffic this way, we will see how it goes.
waste of time. Like someone said, just go look at the Pantagraph. Nothing but flames.