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How to Foster News Conversations
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Cool idea versus Market Need
Posted by
Terry Steichen
6/29/2006 7:29:15 PM
The mantra of Steve's article is that "News is a conversation". I understand that to reflect a belief that news is better if it has...
The mantra of Steve's article is that "News is a conversation". I understand that to reflect a belief that news is better if it has lots of reader interaction associated with it.
Why is that? What's the basis to believe that this is really what news readers appreciate and want?
News is the term we often use to refer to articles that describe current events in the world around us. Many news readers simply want to be informed - they're not interested in expressing opinions. If advocates of interactive journalism have some documentation that a significant portion of news readers really want the capability to interact, it would be nice if they'd disclose it.
Related is the question of what proportion of news readers are really interested in reading other readers' reactions to each individual news article.
For users who happen to like interacting, one must wonder whether reader reactions to any specific article are going to be terribly useful or informative. To the contrary, I would think that it might be far more useful to provide readers with the capability to comment on the overarching, persistent themes that an article brings up. That way you can have a 'conversation' that can extend beyond a day's event. But how many newspapers provide the capability for a reader to branch from an individual news article, to the articles theme(s)? (Answer: virtually none).
Steve (and many others) assume that the more user comments the better. I think the appeal very much depends on the quality of user commentary. Anonymous comments tend, I think, to encourage not just more comments, but more irresponsible comments. See enough of that kind of junk, and anyone will tune the rest out.
Same goes for the idea of allowing/encouraging commenters to attach photos, and video clips.
I personally like the idea of more user interaction with news. But, I'm more than a bit skeptical if that's what the overall news market wants.
Completely Agree
Posted by
Angus Frame
6/27/2006 5:30:40 PM
Back in September at globeandmail.com we started allowing readers to comment (or "Join the conversation") on virtually every article we publish....
Back in September at globeandmail.com we started allowing readers to comment (or "Join the conversation") on virtually every article we publish. It has transformed the site and while we are still wrestling with the occassional borderline comment generally I have been very impressed with the level of discourse. Turns out our readers are a pretty intelligent group.
I just can't figure out why more big sites haven't gone this route...
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