I’ve seen so much discussion about how blogging is affecting how news is reported & sales of newspapers. Yesterday it dawned on me how newspapers have integrated aspects of social media into their online presence.

At my house we admit that once we had access to the regional newspaper online, we quit taking delivery of the hard copy. At first only a portion of the articles were represented & no photos. Now it’s evolved so that most of the articles are there & many photos are included.

In the past newspapers delivered the news & could be shared with neighbors (whether literally by passing sections of the paper itself or through discussion). The online version has integrated a new version of that interaction by allowing comments to be added to articles.

Yesterday I was listening to my husband read the responses to an article that was written about his work & I realized that the comments were adding a whole a new perspective to the article. One man’s comment was defending my husband’s work & the man is a stranger to us. In another article about a police offer being found not guilty of an event that happened 16 months ago the first comment states that he was glad that the jury listened to the case after the media had tried it. What a powerful statement that can be posted there for many to read!

I see that you can also sign up for email & mobile notifications of news & weather. The Grand Forks Herald is a small paper so I’m impressed with the options. In looking at other newspapers, the Minneapolis Star Tribune has considerably larger circulation & just offers ‘Most emailed’ & ‘Most viewed’.

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So then I checked out the New York Times & they allow comments on select articles. I wonder what their criteria is for choosing?

So many questions came to mind:

  • What do the comments add?
  • Do they build community?
  • Will subscriptions drop as a result of the ability to read online & participate?
  • Do the same people participate on a regular basis?
  • Do the reporters read the comments & consider them for future stories?
  • How much time does it take to moderate? I see ‘report’ buttons
  • Are many newspapers offering this service?
  • TV is putting short video clips of their footage – are they allowing comments?

What are your thoughts on this?