Journalism, Online Comments, and the Future of Public Discourse

two-way communication with the audience and inhibited “marginal notation and group discussion,”

is speech that flows out and through decision-making structures and can affect action.

90% of the users are “lurkers” who never contribute.

“The poverty of social cues in computer-mediated communication inhibits interpersonal collaboration and trust, especially when interaction is anonymous and not nested in a wider social context,”

It means organizing information for maximum understanding, keeping conversations on point, correcting errors, debunking misinformation, seeking out diverse participants, including varied perspectives, and adding value to citizens’ comments above the reactive social media layer.

facilitating greater back and forth among participants might be wise.”

News organizations can host or sponsor citizen gatherings such as live town hall events, talks or salons to incorporate and capture diverse audience input and then publicize the ideas discussed.

“online disinhibition effect.”

“Social media favors the bitty over the meaty, the cutting over the considered. It prizes emotionalism over reason,”

Consent of the Networked, Rebecca MacKinnon refers to the digital commons as the virtual equivalent of de Tocqueville’s vibrant civil society