MyNorthwest removes commenting on its websites
Jun 8, 2020, 2:52 PM | Updated: Aug 14, 2020, 2:53 pm
Bonneville Seattle has decided to turn off comments on both MyNorthwest and 710Sports.
This was not a decision the company took lightly. We firmly believe in listening to our audience. The comments provided a way for readers to criticize policy, hold leadership accountable, and most importantly to us, speak to website writers.
Unfortunately, the comments section transformed from what we originally intended it to be into a space that was disrespectful to other readers. The writers at MyNorthwest were willing to take some abuse, but we wanted it to be an inviting place for other readers. And it just wasn’t. Bonneville made it clear its values of uplifting communities is more important than a potential loss to website traffic by turning them off.
Moderating hundreds of comments every day takes a lot of time, especially if you’re trying to be thoughtful about it. Like many newsrooms of late, we just don’t have that time to spend. We’re not alone in that. As we’re sure you’re aware, most news outlets in the Puget Sound area have also removed comments, likely for the same reason.
It’s been made clear to us that some of you won’t come back because of this decision. Some of you are angry about the decision. We would ask that you give us a chance and visit us on our social channels. All three radio stations, as well as MyNorthwest, are on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Is this permanent? We can’t answer that. Nothing is permanent. This industry is always changing and new solutions present themselves all the time. For the time being, we’ll be working harder to meet you on social media and over email.
