Talkin' about trolls

Skipped bowling last night to talk shop. Turned out to be a nice change from the routine (especially after hearing our team went down in flames -- again)

I was one of about 15 journalists who met at a Northwest Portland tavern for an informal discussion that centered around our interactions with online audiences. How and why do we do it, knowing how distasteful it can be, given the trolls who cause trouble for everyone?

Sponsored by a handful of journalists under the name Digital Journalism Portland, it was a good way to spend 90 minutes sharing information about our news organizations' practices and trading ideas about the overarching reasons for engaging with the largely anonymous readers who leave comments on news stories and opinion pieces.

I won't describe those differences in practices here, as it was an off-the-record conversation, but I can share a couple of thoughts concerning my own experiences at The Big O.

-- Anonymity on internet forums isn't going away. It's a different medium and it's part of the culture. While we can all wring our hands at how nasty some commenters can be, I understand the rationale for not requiring that people identify themselves. There are times when someone offers factual information in confidence because they fear repercussions in the workplace. That's legitimate.

-- Involving yourself in the discussion beats ignoring it. Asking for comments and then failing to participate in the conversation only reinforces the notion of an institution that doesn't care. The internet gives everyone a voice and I think a lot of commenters simply want to be heard. We can praise good comments, we can call out mean-spirited ones. But, mostly, we need to show that we are listening.

--Thoughtful, attentive moderating of the comments can yield some nice benefits. When someone's confidential information leads to a news story, that's a win-win. When you notice an interesting or different perspective -- say, from a minority group member -- it's worth reaching out to the commenter and asking if he/she would be interested in submitting an op-ed. (I've done that a few times and wound up with something we could publish.) When you add to the conversation, you help make the subtle point that journalists are people too. I think it's important that the public see that we in the media are not part of some monolithic institution and that there are huge differences among news organizations and the people who for work them. Same goes for independent bloggers, obviously. .

Already looking forward to next month's discussion, which will feature my newest Oregonian colleague,Cornelius Swart, on the topic of building a new model of cooperation between mainstream and independent news media.


Photograph: www.huntsmanlodge.com