Tomorrow, November 17th is Give to the Max Day!
We are now partnering with GiveMN.org to make the online giving process even easier! And, on Tuesday, November 17th, there is an added incentive to make your year-end contribution to the News Council: Every donation made during Give to the Max Day will receive a portion of a $500,000 matching grant. The matching funds will be divided among all organizations that receive donations tomorrow.
This means that your contribution will go even further!
Visit our GiveMN page today today! At GiveMN, you can create your own fundraising page (and raise money for your favorite nonprofit), you can follow the Minnesota News Council's page, and of course, contribute to our work.
Exciting Changes at the News Council
We are in the process of rolling out a new strategic vision for the Minnesota News Council, and since you are one of our most valued supporters, we wanted to give you the inside scoop on the organization’s future. Over the next several months, we will be debuting new programs and services that we believe will encourage fair and balanced journalism, an engaged citizenry, and overall journalistic excellence in Minnesota. Our vision has three pillars: education, research and service. We’ve included a preview of our vision below. Please tell us what you think; we value your feedback.
Education: Building on its current roster of educational activities, the News Council is working to expand its public forum series, reach out into high school and collegiate classrooms with its mock hearing program and presentations on relevant journalism-related issues, explore issues of new media and citizen journalism – arming professional and citizen journalists with skills to navigate the changing media landscape, and to explore the role of journalism and democracy with the public.
Research: The News Council is currently building a fellowship program in partnership with local educational institutions, and will soon begin conducting independent research. Our research efforts will focus on relevant journalism-related issues, for example: content and coverage analysis of local news, effects of new media on traditional media, review of FOIA and open meetings laws, FOIA audits, investigating levels of public trust in the local media.
Service: Through its complaint resolution processes, the News Council will continue to work with the public and media to encourage fair, balanced and trusted journalism in Minnesota.
Recap: The Comment Conundrum
CLICK HERE to view photos and video of the September 29 event
The Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota’s largest daily newspaper, receives 15,000 comments to its online stories every month. The St. Cloud Times receives comments by the thousands, as does the Pioneer Press.
But are they worth anything? Or as David Brauer, media reporter for MinnPost.com recently characterized it, are on-line comments nothing more than “a cesspool” of hate, personal attacks and other sentiments that aren’t worth the electrons they occupy?
A distinguished panel of experts, including online editors, columnists, reporters and a media lawyer, discussed the phenomenon this week at a forum sponsored by The Minnesota News Council and the Minnesota Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
If there was any consensus, it was that readers’ online comments are popular.
“Four to five percent of all online users comment online, which may not sound like a lot, but many commenters are active, repeat users,” said Star Tribune Assistant Managing Editor/Digital Terry Sauer.
There was less agreement on a variety of other points, however, such as whether comments should be monitored, and whether they’re harmful.
Mary Turck, editor of the Twin Cities Daily Planet and Jeff Achen, online editor for ThisWeek newspapers agreed on some positive effects. “We seek comments from people during the editorial process and get readers involved with the creation of the story,” Turck said. Added Achen: “Commenters have also helped us correct errors in some stories.”
However, comments can also cause great harm, argued Star Tribune columnist Gail Rosenblum. “I find myself trying to protect my sources from my readers. My sources have become concerned that they’ll get attacked on the Web,” she said.
Many commenters attack not only the journalists but also the story subjects. In fact, Sauer said that the newspaper has learned over the years that it’s necessary to monitor comments 24/7. “We now moderate every comment on StarTribune.com,” he said. “Earlier this month we decided to go that route; we wanted to make sure we listened to our readers and some of the criticism. If you go back and look at the comments in the last couple of weeks, they are far different than what you saw earlier.”
In This Issue
- Tomorrow, November 17th is Give to the Max Day!
- Exciting Changes at the News Council
- Recap: The Comment Conundrum
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