JOURNAL BLOGS
Sometimes, there ain’t enough column space...
29
Mar 2007
Just say what you think
Posted by Scott Spielman
at 2:00 AM | Comments (1)
With plenty of issues on the table, this promises to be an interesting election season.
In fact, the advent of technology guarantees it.
More and more newspapers—ours included, of course—have turned to the Internet as a way of getting more readers involved in the debate on local happenings.
We have several ways to do it that go beyond the traditional letters from readers, which—in print, at least—depend on having the space to run them. The comments sections we have attached to our stories, columns and blogs have at times generated some debate and dialogue and I personally couldn’t be happier about that.
It presents a unique issue, though, heading into a time when school board candidates are seeking offices and city councilmen or commissioners are pondering a run at their offices, too. In the past we’ve been reluctant to print campaign letters for a variety of reasons—none of which, by the way, involve limiting public discourse or trying to subtly promote one candidate over another.
The new format makes this impossible and also interjects the possibility of anonymity to the mix. It’s a sad fact that wherever anonymity proliferates, negativity prospers. For some reason, people who want to complain are simply more apt to talk, shout and, now, post than people who think things are going along pretty well, thank you very much.
It’s easy to hurl insults—veiled or unveiled—when you don’t have to worry about the repercussions. It’s easy to promote one candidate and put down another if you don’t have to look them in the eye, shake their hands or answer their questions. We don’t have that option and I personally wouldn’t want it.
We’ve already seen some more than questionable posts here on our web site. The reason you haven’t is because we take more care on what gets through our filters than other forums or media outlets do. We don’t have someone going through and removing objectionable material that people complain about, we have people that make sure that objectionable material never even gets that far.
This is a tricky line to walk. I, for one, will probably always err on the side of caution. It’s certainly not my intent—or the intent of anyone else who works here—to limit public input. I’d rather not have to go in and correct something that is blatantly false, either.This is supposed to be your space. Our hope is to raise the amount—and level—of public conversation.
So I’m going to put my trust in you, the readers. If you want to make a point, don’t put anyone down to do it. You can say why you want to vote for so-and-so without calling his opponent a four-letter word or questioning his intellectual capacity. You can weigh in on decisions without insulting the decision-makers.
For those who don’t know, this service is available at our web site, www.journalgroup.com. Sign on and sign in and join the discussion. It’s quick, it’s easy and it’s fun.
Let’s keep it clean, too.
Comments (1)
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