Best Practices for Journalists When Managing Comments Sections

Comments sections are a piece of social media that consistently receive mixed reviews. For newsrooms, their futures are unclear—some newsrooms have deleted theirs altogether due to a rise in trolling or unsafe and threatening messages. Yet others have retained them and hope to find a use for them.

In this transitionary period, is there a way for journalists to make good use of the comments sections? Are there times when a journalist shouldn’t engage at all? What are the boundaries around engaging in the comments?

Here are some valuable tips you should remember.

MODERATE, IF POSSIBLE

Most online sources don’t have a moderator, and the sad truth is that trolls like to show up at random times. Bad or off-topic comments can actually deter further engagement, so if you have the ability to edit and delete comments on your own work, you can catch them early. 

TALKING BACK CAN INSPIRE THOUGHTFUL CONVERSATION

According to a study by the Center for Media Engagement at UT-Austin, “uncivil” comments dropped about 15 percent when the author of the post engaged with commenters. Showing someone is listening simply discourages the trolls from showing up.

IT HELPS BUILD TRUST

 Readers are trusting news sources less and less, and beginning a dialogue with the community naturally inspires some trust. Answering questions about your work and being transparent about who you are and what you do will also likely earn you some lifelong readers, which will go on to make your career. 

FINDING NEW SOURCES

People in the community that connect with your work will want to help you and will freely offer that help. It’s important to build that community because you can go from one voice to several dozen voices much more quickly, giving your work the opportunity to have a much deeper impact on both the community and the common goal you are working toward.

DELETE OR BAN ABUSIVE USERS AND COMMENTS

There is no reason to tolerate abusive users and comments, or to engage those people in conversation. These people may escalate matters, threatening or harassing you or your community members. Community leaders and journalists should take some steps to protect themselves beforehand, as well as lay clear rules down for what kinds of behavior will not be tolerated in your community. 

RESPECT BEGETS RESPECT

The golden rule, the very first rule of human interaction, also applies in the online comments. Treating readers with respect will garner you plenty of respect in return—treating readers with contempt likewise will reap contempt. This simple rule can be difficult for some readers, but even those people deserve respect unless they become abusive. 

The rules of interacting online mostly amount to the following: Be a human. But in this case, learn more about the other humans you’re connecting with and why they are drawn to this story or to your work. Ultimately, community is everything for a journalist, and the more you have, the more potential your work has to make an impact.