Topix adds user comments to 61 newspaper sites
Topix CEO Chris Tolles said, “They get content up without any work on their part. There’s additional ad inventory. And there are opportunities down the road for them to actually integrate their journalism and the commentary – using forums as a place to get stories, to take the pulse of the community.”
However, some do not see Topix in the same way. On his blog, Howard Owens warns newspapers "Topix is not your friend."
Topix added human editors this year for the first time in an effort to take out only the really horrible comments, because if they are there, many people will stop commenting. Tolles said that Topix is not worried about the bad comments, but more about how to let the good comments shine through.
Reporters will want to make people feel something in order to get them to comment. Perhaps comments will make newspapers have less straight analytical reporting because they will be trying to make readers feel a certain way. Tolles says, “the goal is to get people upset. That’s what citizen journalism brings to the party. That is destiny. There’s no fighting it. That is the way it will be.”
Source : Online Journalism Review
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Have a read of Chris Tolles and Howard Owens debate the merits of this deal:
http://www.journalism.co.uk/shorturl/GVPVQ/
Howard clearly believes that local papers are effectively giving away their audience to something they perhaps should consider a competitor.