News site comments can be toxic. Yet, properly managed, they can be a tool for building media literacy, civic literacy and, ultimately, a news organization's audience.

1. Building the news community
Media literacy, civic engagement
and journalism as a conversation

2. The limits of media literacy
• How would you define
it?

3. The limits of media literacy
• Understanding how to
separate reliable from
unreliable information

4. The limits of media literacy
• Understanding how to
separate reliable from
unreliable information
• Understanding the
difference between
important and trivial

5. The limits of media literacy
• Understanding how to
separate reliable from
unreliable information
• Understanding the
difference between
important and trivial
• Understanding the
difference between
fact and opinion

6. The limits of media literacy
• But what is the larger
context? How can we
convince our audience
that these skills matter?

7. Civic literacy supplies the context
• How would you define
it?

8. Civic literacy supplies the context
• Understanding the
importance of local
issues

9. Civic literacy supplies the context
• Understanding the
importance of local
issues
• Understanding the
importance of national
and world issues

10. Civic literacy supplies the context
• Understanding the
importance of local
issues
• Understanding the
importance of national
and world issues
• Understanding how
local and global issues
are interrelated

11. Civic literacy supplies the context
• When people show an
interest in civic life, they
engage with the news

12. The role of the “former audience”
• In New Haven, Batavia
and elsewhere, inviting
readers to the table

13. The role of the “former audience”
• In New Haven, Batavia
and elsewhere, inviting
readers to the table
• Professional journalism
and reader comments
working together

14. The role of the “former audience”
• In New Haven, Batavia
and elsewhere, inviting
readers to the table
• Professional journalism
and reader comments
working together
• If you don’t tend the
garden, the weeds will
soon sprout up

15. The price of free speech
• The Register put comments up automatically and
depended on the crowd to report offensive ones

16. The price of free speech
• The Register put comments up automatically and
depended on the crowd to report offensive ones
– “these shootings save the taxpayers millions … not only in
welfare costs but in section 8, food stamps, health care. it
is time to consider sterilization …”

17. The price of free speech
• The Register put comments up automatically and
depended on the crowd to report offensive ones
• African-Americans felt alienated from the Register
and cited racist comments as a prime reason

18. The price of free speech
• The Register put comments up automatically and
depended on the crowd to report offensive ones
• African-Americans felt alienated from the Register
and cited racist comments as a prime reason
• A new editor, Matt DeRienzo, ordered that all
comments be screened before being posted

19. A better approach
• Paul Bass’ warning to his audience: “Yes we do
censor reader comments. We’ll continue to.”

20. A better approach
• Paul Bass’ warning to his audience: “Yes we do
censor reader comments. We’ll continue to.”
• Anonymity is allowed, but racist, sexist and
personally insulting comments are not posted

21. A better approach
• Paul Bass’ warning to his audience: “Yes we do
censor reader comments. We’ll continue to.”
• Anonymity is allowed, but racist, sexist and
personally insulting comments are not posted
• A civil conversation that often adds to the story and
that fosters civic engagement — a virtuous circle

22. Crowdsourced reporting
• Residents post on
SeeClickFix to complain
about an ugly building

23. Crowdsourced reporting
• Residents post on
SeeClickFix to complain
about an ugly building
• The Independent
sees complaints
and covers the story

24. Crowdsourced reporting
• Residents post on
SeeClickFix to complain
about an ugly building
• The Independent
sees complaints
and covers the story
• Another 24 comments
are posted at the
Independent

25. Why journalism matters
• New Haven man
seriously injured
in possible assault

26. Why journalism matters
• New Haven man
seriously injured
in possible assault
• Reddit poster falsely
claims it was “justice
for Treyvon” [sic]

27. Why journalism matters
• New Haven man
seriously injured
in possible assault
• Reddit poster falsely
claims it was “justice
for Treyvon” [sic]
• Similar to Reddit rumors
about marathon
bombing suspect

28. The Indy’s moment of crisis
• Nasty mayoral
campaign and its
aftermath broke system

29. The Indy’s moment of crisis
• Nasty mayoral
campaign and its
aftermath broke system
• A crude comment about
Mayor DeStefano (right)
was accidentally posted

30. The Indy’s moment of crisis
• Nasty mayoral
campaign and its
aftermath broke system
• A crude comment about
Mayor DeStefano (right)
was accidentally posted
• Comments were shut
down, later reopened
with new rules

31. Anonymity versus real names
• Howard Owens requires registration and real names
at his community news site in western New York

32. Anonymity versus real names
• Howard Owens requires registration and real names
at his community news site in western New York
• “It starts with basic news ethics: Readers have a right
to know who is saying what.”

33. Anonymity versus real names
• Howard Owens requires registration and real names
at his community news site in western New York
• “It starts with basic news ethics: Readers have a right
to know who is saying what.”
• But Paul Bass believes he would lose police officers,
teachers and other community stakeholders

34. Dan Gillmor
“If I could design a
comment system, I would
put all anonymous
comments at the thread’s
end, and give the site
owner an easy way to
move good comments
higher. I’d also give users a
way to make anonymous
comments invisible.”

35. danah boyd
“The people who most
heavily rely on
pseudonyms in online
spaces are those who are
most marginalized by
systems of power. ‘Real
names’ policies aren’t
empowering; they’re an
authoritarian assertion of
power over vulnerable
people.”

36. What would you do?
Would you allow
anonymous comments or
require real names?

37. Comments are so 2005
• Facebook fosters civil
dialogue in a familiar,
real-names space

38. Comments are so 2005
• Facebook fosters civil
dialogue in a familiar,
real-names space
• Twitter allows reporters
to promote work and
engage with users

39. Comments are so 2005
• Facebook fosters civil
dialogue in a familiar,
real-names space
• Twitter allows reporters
to promote work and
engage with users
• Have traditional news-
site comments outlived
their usefulness?

40. 2016 update
• Many news sites are
killing comments and
moving to social media

41. 2016 update
• Many news sites are
killing comments and
moving to social media
• Coral Project seeks to
improve community
through technology

42. 2016 update
• Many news sites are
killing comments and
moving to social media
• Coral Project seeks to
improve community
through technology
• A lesson of recent
elections is we need
new ways of engaging

43. Permissions
• (cc) 2013 by Dan Kennedy. You are free to use
this presentation under the terms of the
Creative Commons
Attribution/Noncommercial/Share Alike 3.0
license, which is online at http://bit.ly/2oyXPN
• If I have used your copyrighted work
inadvertently, please contact me at
dan.kennedy@northeastern.edu

44. Dan Kennedy
School of Journalism
College of Arts, Media and Design
Northeastern University
Boston
2013 and 2016