Detroit Free Press Removing Comments from Articles

[Bobbert]

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/ ... 406356007/

The comments always help you see the truth behind a story. And I've got a feeling that the truthful reasons behind this announcement are not in the announcement.

[jsf]

My feeling is they don't like the comments, maybe some hit too close to home.

[Deleted User 16173]

It may hurt their subscription numbers. Many people love to voice their opinions.

[ZenithCKLW]

Lol. As if the comments section of a news website is known for civilized and constructive conversation.

[TC Talks]

Newspapers don't have budget to have staff monitor comments.

Most paper have eliminated comments due to inappropriate comments.

[SteveS]

The moderators didn't know what they were doing anyway. So many times my comments were removed for no reason whatsoever. They were completely on-topic, accurate, and were not inflammatory or off-topic nonsense like so many comments are.

[teetoppz28]

I remember MLive's article comment section. There was some REALLY great entertainment in there!

[lidoshuffle]

I imagine the News will follow suit, although I haven't seen any announcement or articles about it....

[MasterB]

They want the comments on FB unless they closed those comments as well. Not surprised they are shutting down comment sections for social media FB/IG etc. I was surprised that Yahoo brought back the comment section even when your on topic and isn't insult they will reject the comment saying that it broke the standards I'd appeal sometimes they would approve it but other times they would reject it when it didn't break any of their standards. Which they pick and choose and insults still seem to fly but I hardly ever make comments on politics I will read the article but make any comments.

[RedfordRob]

Sad to see it go, it was fun to mix it up but I thought it should have been for Subscribers only (like I am).

[km1125]

"We really want to know what you think!"

NOT.

[TC Talks]

"We really want to know what you think!"

NOT.

Since when have reades needed feedback outside the Opinion page?

Letters to the editor are a perfect medium for print, it gives the read time to organize an idea into an opinion.

[Bobbert]

A lot of reporters have to tread carefully to maintain access to their sources (especially sports reporters), so the comments were a good way for readers to fill in the blanks between what the reporter wrote.

And I'd bet a lot of reporters appreciated that "help," especially if their sources read the comments.

[radiofann]

I found the comments section very useful and informative for countering the narratives promoted by leftist freep and Detroit news articles. Such as when they cherry pick one young person teaching at a school in west Michigan, and says “michigan needs to pay teachers more because this young lady can’t afford an apartment or house right out of college and must live under the realm of her parents”…. Well that could be true but school districts and the state need to work to a balanced budget.

Furthermore, the example person they picked was not valid because the example subject in the article was not even a certified teacher therefore the claims and points of the advocacy “journalism” falls flat on its face.

Just looking at the young reporters writing for the freep, one sees fresh grads right out of the indoctrination machines of current universities seeing and reporting the world, country, and state from an extreme leftist point of view pretending to be “just the facts” reporters.

Many many leftist advocacy “journalist” articles exist in the freep, Detroit news and others (Newsweek has some leftist and some from the right), and the comments section are an amazing way to fact check and counterbalance the premises pushed by the reporter, look up the histories of people interviewed in the article, and let the reader make their own conclusions.

And what I am saying can perfectly apply to overly leaning right wing columns.

One might say the comments section made the “reporters” look bad. Closing the comments section makes it look like the freep cannot handle technology. Well over half of the moderating work can be handled thru AI

[jsf]

I found the comments section very useful and informative for countering the narratives promoted by leftist freep and Detroit news articles. Such as when they cherry pick one young person teaching at a school in west Michigan, and says “michigan needs to pay teachers more because this young lady can’t afford an apartment or house right out of college and must live under the realm of her parents”…. Well that could be true but school districts and the state need to work to a balanced budget.

Furthermore, the example person they picked was not valid because the example subject in the article was not even a certified teacher therefore the claims and points of the advocacy “journalism” falls flat on its face.

Just looking at the young reporters writing for the freep, one sees fresh grads right out of the indoctrination machines of current universities seeing and reporting the world, country, and state from an extreme leftist point of view pretending to be “just the facts” reporters.

Many many leftist advocacy “journalist” articles exist in the freep, Detroit news and others (Newsweek has some leftist and some from the right), and the comments section are an amazing way to fact check and counterbalance the premises pushed by the reporter, look up the histories of people interviewed in the article, and let the reader make their own conclusions.

And what I am saying can perfectly apply to overly leaning right wing columns.

One might say the comments section made the “reporters” look bad. Closing the comments section makes it look like the freep cannot handle technology. Well over half of the moderating work can be handled thru AI

Well said