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Abstract
Online commenting has become a popular form of audience–journalist interaction. However, journalists have become frustrated with commenters who use forums to attack and make assertions. As journalists look for ways to reign in commenters, it becomes important to consider how journalists make decisions about moderation policies and practices. This study used gatekeeping theory to consider how one organization approached moderation and related issues of content management. The researcher conducted a one-month ethnography of a large news organization and their online forums and discovered that journalists set high expectations of commenters, but willingly accept low-quality content. Journalists appear to struggle with how to institute policies that promote high-quality discourse without engaging in intense battles with the audience and having to devote more resources to moderation. Journalists focus on establishing balance between allowing the audience to have a conversation without allowing that conversation to disrupt the traditional practices of journalism.
Notes
1. The name of the organization studied for the observation portion of this study has been changed to The Daily Chronicle in order to protect the anonymity of the news organization. The names of staff members have also been changed in order to protect their identity. This was part of a confidentiality clause that was agreed to by both the researcher and representatives of the news organization and was approved by a university Institutional Review Board office.