Via RTDNA | Why corrections are key to gaining trust (and how to do them better)
By Haley Suh and Peter Freeby
Between a pandemic and a presidential election, 2020 appears to have heightened a worrisome rise in misinformation and intense political polarization in the U.S.
Newsrooms have felt the effects. While journalists do their best to spread accurate information, vitriol and false information often bleeds into the comments section of their online platforms. Carolyn Fox, Senior Deputy Editor of Engagement, Sports and Culture at theTampa Bay Timessays that like many news organizations across the country, her newsroom has been facing criticism from trolls and readers alike for years now.
In response to the increasing number of abusive, unproductive comments on its online platform in recent years, theTimesrecently made the decision to turn off commenting under articles – a trending move among newsrooms today. Fox said the comments section, in recent years, had become “very toxic” with hateful words aimed at minorities and women in particular.
The journalists atTampa Bay Timesare not alone. As polarization reaches a high in the U.S. and digital news platforms make it easy for readers to engage with content, radio and television newsrooms have to grapple with challenges that come with negative feedback – some legitimate and somesimply unproductive or even harmful. Many newsrooms face the question, "how do we engage with our audience in a way that promotes transparency, accuracy and accountability while limiting disrespect and misinformation?"
RTDNA is making the Knight Foundation-funded VettNews Cx tool available to members for a discount (and welcomes a dozen newsrooms this year to use the product on a pilot basis for free). Members, learn more and sign up here.
Haley Suh is an intern at Vett Inc. / VettNews.com, a former editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian at the University of Pennsylvania and an intern at Forbes.com, CBS Interactive and Rough Draft Ventures. Peter Freeby is a designer and co-founder of Vett Inc. / VettNews.com and a design director at Artist Estate Studio LLC.
