Last week, The New York Times announced that the publication was making a change to its reader comment policy. Perhaps the most significant change is that the new policy will give readers the ability to become a “trusted commenter,” by allowing them to bypass the moderating process and post comments on the website at will. According to The New York Times, the changes are designed to improve the community experience across nytimes.com.
In addition to providing some readers with a fast-track status that will exempt their comments from moderation, the new policy will keep all comments on the same page, give readers the ability to reply directly to other readers’ comments, and provide the option to share comments via Twitter and Facebook. The “trusted commentator” status is available by invitation only and will be offered to those who have an established record of regularly contributing valuable comments.
These changes are significant for an established media brand and a bold step in the growing trend of surrendering more control for an increased and more authentic form of engagement. However, The New York Times is receiving mixed reviews for its new policy and facing backlash from its commenting community. While most can agree that enabling and enhancing the comment function on online news sites is a step in the right direction to help foster valuable conversations, others are criticizing the changes. Many commenters are angry about the changes with some even claiming the invitation-only “trusted commenter” status is anti-democratic because it doesn’t give everyone a fair right to express their opinions.
Regardless of whether you’re for or against the new policy, or perhaps your reactions are somewhere in between, these changes signal broad recognition within the news community that audience participation and engagement play a critical role in enhancing reporting and coverage. Enabling comments is one of the most effective methods of building global, online communities and something that Communiqué PR practices in its blog.
What’s your take on the issue? Is The New York Times taking an innovative step toward maintaining control of its brand while amplifying the voices of its readers? Or does the new policy prohibit equal conversations and unfairly grant privileges to some and not others? We’d love to hear your thoughts!
Monica Rodriguez
The New York Times Makes a Bold Move to Increase Reader Engagement
Last week, The New York Times announced that the publication was making a change to its reader comment policy. Perhaps the most significant change is that the new policy will give readers the ability to become a “trusted commenter,” by allowing them to bypass the moderating process and post comments on the website at will. According to The New York Times, the changes are designed to improve the community experience across nytimes.com.
In addition to providing some readers with a fast-track status that will exempt their comments from moderation, the new policy will keep all comments on the same page, give readers the ability to reply directly to other readers’ comments, and provide the option to share comments via Twitter and Facebook. The “trusted commentator” status is available by invitation only and will be offered to those who have an established record of regularly contributing valuable comments.
These changes are significant for an established media brand and a bold step in the growing trend of surrendering more control for an increased and more authentic form of engagement. However, The New York Times is receiving mixed reviews for its new policy and facing backlash from its commenting community. While most can agree that enabling and enhancing the comment function on online news sites is a step in the right direction to help foster valuable conversations, others are criticizing the changes. Many commenters are angry about the changes with some even claiming the invitation-only “trusted commenter” status is anti-democratic because it doesn’t give everyone a fair right to express their opinions.
Regardless of whether you’re for or against the new policy, or perhaps your reactions are somewhere in between, these changes signal broad recognition within the news community that audience participation and engagement play a critical role in enhancing reporting and coverage. Enabling comments is one of the most effective methods of building global, online communities and something that Communiqué PR practices in its blog.
What’s your take on the issue? Is The New York Times taking an innovative step toward maintaining control of its brand while amplifying the voices of its readers? Or does the new policy prohibit equal conversations and unfairly grant privileges to some and not others? We’d love to hear your thoughts!
Monica Rodriguez