I recall the furor over "Rants and Raves" at the One Feather as Chief Hicks and others felt as though some of what was published was inappropriate. I did have standards for this anonymous forum. I certainly never published any of the types of remarks that appear on the Asheville Citizen-Times' anonymous online forums through topix.net. I'll spare republishing the disgusting remarks made about tribal member Anita Vestal who will be facing charges of helping a murder suspect escape. Anyone who wants to see them can click this link. The Citizen-Times rightfully refuses to publish remarks that are racist or just mean spirited in its letters to the editor, but the topix forums appear to allow anything. Remarks made about Vestal and the escaped suspect have been centered on the escapee's race and Vestal's weight, truely classless, tasteless and racist remarks that add nothing of value to the debate.
I'm not advocating censorship. The Citizen-Times can do what it wants, but given the ever strengthening significance of the internet, the publication would do well to have the same standards it has for letters to the editor, better police what comes through its online forums and keep this kind of garbage out. Publishing remarks like these cheapens the publication.
Breaking Down Barriers in Sexual and Reproductive Health Reporting in Africa
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*This is a guest post by Humphrey Nabimanya, founder of Reach a Hand
Uganda. *
[image: 2016-04-15-1460736651-1435623-huffpo1.jpg]*Journalists and bloggers...
8 years ago
1 comment:
What's interesting about the comments section is that, leaving aside the crass and profane comments left by a few idiots, some of the more compelling information about the case can be found there. For example, a link to Vestal's MySpace page gives us a small glimpse into her psyche that the AC-T coverage doesn't come close to providing. The AC-T coverage of this story is so poor for such an important story, and it leaves readers with so many open questions. The comments section allows some of this information to be answered. If the AC-T were a decent newspaper, and provided some actual incisive coverage, the comments section would be unnecessary. Unfortunately for those who are unfairly tarnished in these comment sections on the AC-T and various newspaper websites, that information stays there always and forever, and a simple Google search of one's name will turn up potentially damaging information, whether true or false, about a person that could cause them job searching problems, etc. If newspapers did their jobs competently, I don't think we'd see this proliferation of anonymous spewing that we see. Unfortunately aiding a double murderer facing capital punishment to escape into the general public is so horrific I find myself having little sympathy for anyone involved in such a vile act.
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