Editor’s note: The Daily runs a media literacy column by Sarah Cavanah, interim executive director of Oklahoma Scholastic Media and former Daily staff writer, every Tuesday to give readers a behind-the-scenes look at The Daily and media coverage in general.
I love the letters sections of the publications I read. I don’t feel like my consumption of the stories within the publication is complete until I know whether someone thought information was incorrect, misleading or missing important perspectives.
So, the ability to leave online comments on the Web should be right up my alley, right? Think about it: unlimited space for unlimited perspectives and reanalysis.
But here’s what I saw after reading an online story about the Swiss completing the world’s longest tunnel:
• an attack on American teachers’ unions;
• a joke about Sarah Palin;
• an attempt at a racist joke about the Swiss;
• and something I think might be a protest against government’s ability to tax, but also could be a second-grader’s report on penny stocks.
No discussion of the balance between engineering and environmental balance. No suggestions for where this sort of technology might be applied elsewhere. No new perspectives. Just … jerks.
Unfortunately, the Web’s ability to bring out our inner jerk has led many publications to consider censorship. This is a serious development. Fascist governments and tyrants censor. Media is meant to be the “marketplace of ideas,” where you can get everything from theoretical breakthroughs in string theory to who Justin Beiber is dating.
Many publications, like The Daily, have a policy on comments. Commenters have to register, but are allowed to remain anonymous, even though this particular freedom seems to feed the fire of inner jerkitude more than anything else. Before posts go live, editors screen them for objectionable material, following that publication’s specific policy. Usually, this weeds out the worst stuff that could literally lead to someone getting hurt, but leaves every political screed and unfounded assertion that gets submitted.
Others, often larger publications, have much more complicated processes. Many larger outlets have hired full-time readers to scroll the comments and remove worthless content. It’s sort of the call center job of the 21st century. Instead of being a telemarketer getting screamed at constantly, you get to read a thousand posts a day about how Barack Obama is a Muslim with a fake birth certificate.
I’m not sure which would be worse.
These sites also often employ their readers to flag comments for worthlessness. Enough flags and your comment about how the Bush family is part of a secret society to reestablish slavery in America is gone.
It’s censorship, for sure. And even though I appreciate the disappearance of those comments, I’m not sure it’s in the spirit of American media. What I want is for everyone to take the sections seriously and use them for real discussions. I also want a pony. One’s probably easier to get than the other.
— Sarah Cavanah, professional writing and journalism graduate
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ConcernedReader 1 year, 7 months ago
This is really interesting, but I do think that the Daily should start publishing the arrests again. It was probably the only reason most people picked it up!