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Topic: Letters Sent to Romenesko
Date/Time: 2/27/2006 12:14:56 PM
Title: Rocky editor responds to YourHub.com critics
Posted By: Jim Romenesko
 
From JOHN TEMPLE, editor and publisher, Rocky Mountain News: Romenesko on Friday included a misleading post by Howard Rothman from NewWest.com about YourHub.com. As a member of the team that created YourHub.com and the editor, president and publisher of the Rocky Mountain News, which produces it, I would like to address the issues raised in Rothman’s column and by two columns on Poynter.org – one by Steve Yelvington and the other by Kelly McBride – that jumped on Rothman’s bandwagon.

Rothman begins: "If there's one thing I’ve been telling people we need around here, it's more respectable-looking pseudo-media where politicians (among others) can dump a truckload of hooey that appears to most observers to be official, serious, unbiased, old-fashioned, editorially sanctioned news.”

I’m not sure how Rothman knows that “most observers” would view a posting by Colorado House Minority Leader Joe Stengel on YourHub.com as “official, serious, unbiased, old-fashioned, editorially sanctioned news." But his argument wouldn’t have held water if he had acknowledged how the column is presented.

First, it carries the byline of Joe Stengel, who by the way is pretty well known in these parts. (This is how the byline reads: “Contributed by Joe Stengel on 2/15/2006.”) Second, there’s a big picture of Stengel right next to the byline. The caption says “House Minority Leader Rep. Joe Stengel (Littleton).” I can’t imagine how “most readers” would imagine that a piece written by the House Minority Leader would be “unbiased, editorially sanctioned news.”

But even if they did, when they got to the end of the column, they could have learned much more, by reading comments from opponents or critics. (Granted, in this case, no such comments have been posted.) You see, anybody can post a story, photo, column, event, blog or even sell something on YourHub.com. It’s meant to be a wide-open exchange of ideas, experiences and goods. However there is one requirement. To post, people must register and then they’re in charge or they can (though this is rare) submit an item to the YourHub.com staff, which will help out when necessary. All postings carry the author’s name. And no post can stand alone, free from comment. At the bottom of every post, a reader can rate the story and talk back by submitting comments that will be attached to the story. So, for example, a GOP primary opponent of Stengel’s or a Democratic opponent in the general election or an individual or group that opposes Stengel can all rebut him – or worse – and thus color any reader’s perception of Stengel’s post. If you look up stories that I’ve posted, you’ll find that I have a 3.5 rating.

This self-policing aspect of the Web and blogosphere is one of its greatest strengths. I believe many in the mainstream media vastly underestimate it. It is one of the reasons people feel confident using eBay, for example. YourHub.com has adopted the approach of successful consumer Web sites and applied them to a community journalism site.

As for YourHub.com appearing to be “officially sanctioned news,” it would be worth explaining how the system works. Anybody can post an item to YourHub.com, unless it’s violent or obscene. However stories don’t make the home page of our 44 hubs (representing communities in the seven-county Denver metro area) unless a YourHub.com journalist decides they’re of general interest and should be displayed on the most prominent page of each site. So play and the possible exposure a story might get is still decided by journalists. Then, those journalists pick the best postings of the week and publish them in a weekly section of the Rocky Mountain News that is also distributed to the homes of Denver Post subscribers. This is where editing occurs. Submissions selected for the print sections are verified in the same way we verify letters to the editor in the Rocky Mountain News./CONTINUED BELOW

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