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Heated debates are occurring in newsrooms across the state regarding when/how/if to let readers post online comments about stories. The Duluth News Tribune did some soul-searching recently about online comments that some say bordered on racist. It seems most papers, as they struggle to engage readers, feel the need to let readers have an open forum to say what they wish – usually without even having to post their real names. Then they are surprised when the discussion deteriorates quickly. We hear from clients who don’t even want to post credible online comments, because they don’t want to be in the company of inarticulate radicals. See where this is going? It’s not good. It’s time to reclaim this valuable online space.
Editors, who already have what appears to be an arbitrary process for deciding which stories merit online commenting and which don’t, should flex more muscle here. Just say no to comments that don’t add something valuable to the public discussion. Editors make subjective decisions every day about what stories to cover, which ones make the front page, and who gets to write on the editorial pages. Then why surrender so much control when it comes to online comments?
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
White House Misspells President’s Name
In a news release issued yesterday, the White House stated that President “Barak” Obama signed an arms reduction treaty with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
This certainly isn’t the first time our President’s first name – spelled “Barack” – has been misspelled. At the time of his inauguration, it was estimated that at least 60 million Internet pages had the name misspelled.
But the fact that the President’s own staff missed the error before sending the release to the media highlights how important proofreading is to maintaining an organization’s reputation. Errors in writing – or the lack thereof – make a statement about professionalism and credibility.
Of course errors happen from time to time. Writers, editors and proofreaders are human, after all. But making sure that all documents are edited and proofed is a good policy for any organization to follow.
Something tells me that the White House editors and proofers will give extra-close scrutiny to the documents leaving their hands in the days ahead.
This certainly isn’t the first time our President’s first name – spelled “Barack” – has been misspelled. At the time of his inauguration, it was estimated that at least 60 million Internet pages had the name misspelled.
But the fact that the President’s own staff missed the error before sending the release to the media highlights how important proofreading is to maintaining an organization’s reputation. Errors in writing – or the lack thereof – make a statement about professionalism and credibility.
Of course errors happen from time to time. Writers, editors and proofreaders are human, after all. But making sure that all documents are edited and proofed is a good policy for any organization to follow.
Something tells me that the White House editors and proofers will give extra-close scrutiny to the documents leaving their hands in the days ahead.
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