Should online news edit comments?

// July 18th, 2010 // Articles, Media

I was just on a popular Sydney morning paper that was heralding (pun intended) its particular views and I decided to add to the conversation and make a comment. Hours later I came back to view the conversation to find that only half my comment had been published and its context was skewed because it lacked the full message, and it had my name on it!!

I know that papers (historically) have determined that it is in their best interest to maintain full control over content but does this model fit when you include social media into the mix? If you give people the space comment online then people expect to speak their mind, fully. The future profitability of newspapers is dubious if old models are to be continued, yet if they cannot embrace the new models of new media fully into their mix, will they indeed have a future?

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