The comments on The DM Online hardly cease to amaze me anymore. When I was first hired as online editor and re-enabled the comment system, I was shocked at the sheer volume of online comments we received. You see, every time someone comments on anything on the site, I get an email. And back then, I was getting at least, and by at least I mean at the very, very least, 65 comment emails a day. I would read through them pretty generally if I had the time, but, for the most part, the comments went unchecked.
After a few weeks of "The DM SUX!!1!" and "This writer is a fool and a slut!" though, it was obvious that something had to be done. And what we did was install a comment policy. Based on the Washington Post's online comment policy, we changed the language and the terms of the statement to fit our needs as a college daily. And while it may get a little wordy, the comment policy basically says this: Don't defame anyone, don't use inappropriate language and leave your first name and your last initial. Should be easy, right? Wrong.
The daily number of comment emails dropped significantly when I started moderating them. From an unchecked 65 to 100 comments a day, we now get about 20. And do you know how many of those survive the Great Comment Purge As According to the Comment Policy? Maybe 6. On a good day.
Most people's comments get deleted because they simply don't put a last initial with their name. I know it may seem trivial and silly to delete comments, even if they're perfectly acceptable by all other standards, simply because they're missing a single letter, but the letter is not the point. The point is that the commenter didn't take the time to read the shortened, bolded version of the policy that's on literally every article page, much less the full version. And for not paying attention, delete.
There are other instances where I will delete a comment as well. Calling someone an idiot on the site isn't cool: delete. Something like "ok" or "sux" as your only comment: purge. Racial slurs, sexist comments, "The South will rise again," etc.: peace out. Typing in all caps: buh-bye.
A few things that don't get deleted (if they follow the policy), though, are bad mouthing The DM when it's merited or telling us we're wrong about something. I never delete a comment simply because I don't like what it says, because if I did, we might have two comments a day. If I was feeling nice that day. (And I'm hardly ever feeling nice.)
Reading your comments every day, I often chuckle and show other editors around the office how, well, silly a lot of them are. Some are sensible and well written, and some even contain an actual point, but most of the time the commenters think they're calling Meghan Blalock a bitch for the first time or informing Alex McAdams she doesn't know anything about music as if a light bulb will click on and she'll come to her senses and quit. Or they think their comment telling us that we're totally wrong about something on the opinion page will cause us to realize the error of our ways and track down all 15,000 copies of The DM from that day and burn them.
Everything we do is planned in some way or another. We know what columns and stories we're going to run several days in advance, and even if we decide to run something on the fly, it still goes through at least five editors. And, sure, mistakes get through sometimes. After all, you can't pick up a single newspaper or magazine in the world and find it without a mistake, usually even on the front page. That's what happens when humans run everything.
So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you just want to tell us we suck and you can't back it up with why, don't waste your time. And if you think posting on every edition of a "controversial" column or story that it's stupid is going to make us stop publishing it, you might as well leave the site. Because I'm always there, lurking in the background, hoping you didn't read the policy or that you don't really have anything to say. And it gives me great pleasure to check that little check box and press 'Delete.' (No, seriously, I get warm fuzzies when I do it.)
However, if you have something real to say, please comment. And if you took the time and put a little thought into your paragraph, I assure you we would take it seriously and I would be delighted. In fact, I might even print it out and hang it in the office. We love when intelligent people write in and give us a grounded opinion, and it's those opinions we actually consider when making editorial choices later.
But above all things, be sure to remember this: leave your last initial. Because if you don't, I will be there, purging without a second thought. And if you do, I, as well as The DM Online readers, will actually have to consider your thought. And after all, isn't that what commenting is all about?
Friday, November 9, 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Life = Work
I wish I could come up with some kind of flashy title for this blog, or even think of something witty to say to all those readers out there who will look at this, but that just won’t happen. You see, I am the Photo Editor of the DM, so hopefully that excuses me from my over use of commas and slight grammatical errors.
Taking the job at the DM was a great opportunity; however, completely the opposite of what I thought it was going to be. I thought this would be a great part time job, just a few hours a night, weekends off, excellent resume builder. Well, it certainly is a good resume builder, but the part time job with weekends and nights off went through the window on my very first day of work.
On a typical day, I wake up around 8 a.m. to a text message about work. Usually it is about a feature photo idea, or what did and didn’t run in today’s paper. In fact, my 8 am work text message is so regular I depend on it to get to my 9 am classes. I usually get phone calls and text messages about breaking news or photo ideas all day. Even though my work day ‘starts’ at 4:30 pm with our daily budget meetings, I have been on the prowl for pictures and in contact with photographers all day.
After 4:30 is when the paper starts to get a face. I do my part by keeping up with what stories are going in the upcoming week’s paper, and brainstorm feature ideas with the help of Sally, the Assistant Photo Editor. Sally and I then take in the photos from the photographers, format them and give them cut lines.
The photographers help immensely by having cut lines already written so Sally and I can simply type them into a single document and put them on the server. We shoot all digitally, which makes it easier for us load the photos onto the computer. Thank goodness the days of cutting and pasting photos onto each page are gone.
After all the proper formatting is done, and all cut lines and photos are in the correct folder and placed on the server, I assign things for the coming days. Even though it certainly is a lot of work; it is all done with a smile because of the great people that I work with every day.
Taking the job at the DM was a great opportunity; however, completely the opposite of what I thought it was going to be. I thought this would be a great part time job, just a few hours a night, weekends off, excellent resume builder. Well, it certainly is a good resume builder, but the part time job with weekends and nights off went through the window on my very first day of work.
On a typical day, I wake up around 8 a.m. to a text message about work. Usually it is about a feature photo idea, or what did and didn’t run in today’s paper. In fact, my 8 am work text message is so regular I depend on it to get to my 9 am classes. I usually get phone calls and text messages about breaking news or photo ideas all day. Even though my work day ‘starts’ at 4:30 pm with our daily budget meetings, I have been on the prowl for pictures and in contact with photographers all day.
After 4:30 is when the paper starts to get a face. I do my part by keeping up with what stories are going in the upcoming week’s paper, and brainstorm feature ideas with the help of Sally, the Assistant Photo Editor. Sally and I then take in the photos from the photographers, format them and give them cut lines.
The photographers help immensely by having cut lines already written so Sally and I can simply type them into a single document and put them on the server. We shoot all digitally, which makes it easier for us load the photos onto the computer. Thank goodness the days of cutting and pasting photos onto each page are gone.
After all the proper formatting is done, and all cut lines and photos are in the correct folder and placed on the server, I assign things for the coming days. Even though it certainly is a lot of work; it is all done with a smile because of the great people that I work with every day.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Yes, folks, we're for real
As the City News Editor, one of the most surprising things I've seen is just how many people take us seriously. I mean, after all, we're just a bunch of students, not a professional news organization, right?
When I started writing for the paper last semester, I was shocked that people were willing to talk to me after I said I was with The DM. For the most part, no one treated me differently than if I had been with the Oxford Eagle, the Clarion Ledger or any other major newspaper.
I find that has stayed true as I moved up to the editorial position.
It still amazes me that the mayor of Oxford is willing to answer pretty much any question we ask him, let alone the fact that he is now holding a press conference for us twice a month. It amazes me that we have a reporter who is one of the first people the chief of police talks to after something happens. It amazes me that the vast majority of the city's aldermen, most of whom have demanding day jobs, are willing to talk to us, even when we call them at home.
Now, this isn't to say there are no problems. There are still a number of people who refuse to ever say a word to us, or who look down on us as a third-rate amateur rag. But thankfully, and to my perpetual surprise, these people are the minority.
So more than anything, I want to say thank you to Mayor Richard Howorth, County Administrator Richard Copp, Alderman Janice Antonow, Police Chief Mike Martin and all the other administrators who lend us their voices, opinions and knowledge when we ask them. Without them, the city section of our paper wouldn't do much good.
And now, I ask for the opinions of whoever is reading this. I need to know how to cover this city better. What do you see going on in Oxford and Lafayette County that you want to see in the paper? Is there an area of the city's culture that we're missing? Let me know what you think by emailing thedmnews@gmail.com, because there are only so many recycling and Pathways Project stories I can run.
When I started writing for the paper last semester, I was shocked that people were willing to talk to me after I said I was with The DM. For the most part, no one treated me differently than if I had been with the Oxford Eagle, the Clarion Ledger or any other major newspaper.
I find that has stayed true as I moved up to the editorial position.
It still amazes me that the mayor of Oxford is willing to answer pretty much any question we ask him, let alone the fact that he is now holding a press conference for us twice a month. It amazes me that we have a reporter who is one of the first people the chief of police talks to after something happens. It amazes me that the vast majority of the city's aldermen, most of whom have demanding day jobs, are willing to talk to us, even when we call them at home.
Now, this isn't to say there are no problems. There are still a number of people who refuse to ever say a word to us, or who look down on us as a third-rate amateur rag. But thankfully, and to my perpetual surprise, these people are the minority.
So more than anything, I want to say thank you to Mayor Richard Howorth, County Administrator Richard Copp, Alderman Janice Antonow, Police Chief Mike Martin and all the other administrators who lend us their voices, opinions and knowledge when we ask them. Without them, the city section of our paper wouldn't do much good.
And now, I ask for the opinions of whoever is reading this. I need to know how to cover this city better. What do you see going on in Oxford and Lafayette County that you want to see in the paper? Is there an area of the city's culture that we're missing? Let me know what you think by emailing thedmnews@gmail.com, because there are only so many recycling and Pathways Project stories I can run.
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