Website Changes: Less Cussing, More Updates on What Matters
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I have been fortunate in my journalism career to do a number of different things.
The big leap from reporter to editor years ago seemed a vast chasm at the time. But looking back now, it was a mere puddle jump.
About 18 months ago, after a few years of watching good colleagues get laid off and seeing the newspaper industry retreat and retrench, I was accorded the rare opportunity to join the future. I moved from the traditional newspaper business to take command of digital news operations for The News & Record in Greensboro.
In this role, I became responsible for managing that paper's website and its social media, and make up for lost time by bringing the business into the mobile age. Since this was the future for the business, it was a lifeboat floating by at the perfect time.
Once aboard this boat, I needed to learn how to work the oars. I could use the Internet and Facebook as well as the next person, but understanding how it all worked, learning how to walk the walk and talk the talk - there was the challenge.
Technical proficiency was just one aspect. I had to learn where we - both the industry and the paper - had been and where we needed to be going.
Little did I know then how well all of that would serve me when, a year later, I became editor of The Pilot. From the first discussion, Publisher David Woronoff was clear he wanted an editor who could move this paper's digital efforts forward in addition to building on the paper's reputation as a high-quality community newspaper.
Few community newspapers have dedicated the resources The Pilot has over the years to building a strong digital presence. Many take for granted the quantity of content that can be read and viewed; the blogs that can be written and read; and the forums for commentary. It's no small endeavor and entails a great deal of behind-the-scenes work to pull it all off.
With all that said, I wanted to share with you a few changes we've made in recent days to the site. They're not very noticeable, but in total they represent the start of more changes designed to update, enhance and improve your experience on the site.
The first change is one you night owls might have perceived. Content from our Wednesday, Friday and Sunday papers used to go up on the website at midnight, almost 10 hours before newspapers start hitting the streets. This wasn't really giving the paper a fighting chance, and folks reading stories at midnight were missing out on other content in the paper under the mistaken belief they'd "read it all."
As of this past weekend, newspaper content is going live on our site at noon the day of publication. Breaking news and other updates will still go up immediately.
The second change is related to the first. While newspaper content will go live later in the day, we are committed to posting more breaking news and other updates during the day, both on ThePilot.com and on our Facebook page.
We did this earlier in the week with news of a proposed new apartment complex in Southern Pines and the Pinehurst Village Council's vote to ban tobacco and concealed guns from recreational facilities. We are determined to give you news as it happens and as we learn of details, especially when it comes to weather or public safety.
Third, we have installed a profanity filter on the site to weed out - for now - the worst of the worst. We have to be careful, because such filters can have unintended consequences, such as eliminating the word "asset" or "assistant." But there clearly are some choice words that we can safely eradicate, and we've now done so. If successful, we will probably extend its lexicon of the naughty and profane.
Lastly, we will no longer allow comments on crime-related stories, especially stories that involve arrests or suspect descriptions. This is standard practice at most newspapers, and experience over the last few months has shown regularly that comments on these stories frequently are vile and equally injurious to the suspects, the victims and their respective families. The comments don't provide any meaningful information or dialogue. They often provide the opposite.
All of these changes will take a bit of time to work through and become routine. Lapses are bound to occur, and we'll fix them as that happens.
Overall, these changes will make ThePilot.com a more welcoming site for the latest news and information about Moore County. Please let me know what you think of them.
Contact John Nagy at (910) 693-2507 or john@thepilot.com.
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Comments
Easygoing 9 months, 4 weeks ago
I would suggest you limit the number of comments on any story that any one person can post to 2. These endless rants and back and forth from the trolls ruin any constructive or informative comments from rational readers.
JohnANagy 9 months, 4 weeks ago
Easy, I welcome a spirited back-and-forth on matters. It's the name calling and the "Meet me behind the Dairy Queen for a rumble" that we can live without.
Jason 9 months, 4 weeks ago
DQ, yum! LOL, nice product placement. ;)
SH59 9 months, 4 weeks ago
PLEASE re-install the reply button so the comments don't become one ridiculous conversation. If someone wants to reply to a person's comment, the rest of us don't have to engage in that conversation but can stay on topic if they want to. The comments around here are becoming pathetic attempts to discredit another writer and often disintegrate into name calling with no relation to the story. It's really getting bad.
geoffcutler 9 months, 4 weeks ago
Yes, please re-install the reply option!
fugitiveguy 9 months, 4 weeks ago
"Lastly, we will no longer allow comments on crime-related stories, especially stories that involve arrests or suspect descriptions."
Its a shame it has come to this. I respectfully disagree with the decision. So often in life instead of penalizing the bad actors a blanket "solution" is applied that penalizes all. Oh, well we still have politics.
native 9 months, 4 weeks ago
Sounds like good changes
JohnANagy 9 months, 4 weeks ago
The "reply" button doesn't work right now, from what I'm told, because of some broken java script that's making it unresponsive. We've got a work order in to have the tech support folks with our website vendor look at it. We agree that that feature is important.
MikeNC 9 months, 4 weeks ago
Here's a somewhat related question John that I would think either persuades most to refrain from cursing, etc or possibly invite them to do so openly. The question is...Does the Pilot Staff know the actual names and contact information of all posters whether or not they choose to use an alias? Or can a poster somehow create a pseudonym for the sole intention of causing chaos with his / her drive by comments? The reason I ask is because many of those who only contribute rubbish have a history of only a few posts that span a day or so and then they disappear. Do they do so anonymously to you guys with no risk of being accountable for what they post, other than to be deleted after so many foul posts? Thanks John....Mike
The_AnonymusProfit 9 months, 4 weeks ago
John I think your changes are all great! Might I make 1 suggestion. Twitter seems to be big. Maybe you should incorporate this application more into the opinion comment section. Maybe allowing posters like me who crave the "back and fourth" to be able to follow the stories on twitter.
Also A comment response email would be cool, if we wanted to "follow a story" we could get a notification email if our comment was replyed to.
Just some thoughts, but you guys do a great job with this web site.
Thatcher 9 months, 4 weeks ago
Great job, Mr. Nagy! Many here urge others to be civil and not use vile language. And MikeNC's post (1 hour, 37 min. ago) certainly deserves an answer. Keep up the good work. Cheers!
nothingspecial 9 months, 4 weeks ago
Sure appreciate all you're doing, Mr. Nagy. It all sounds great
lakeview 9 months, 4 weeks ago
Good job Mr Nagy, Tom and other Pilot staff !
Bflat 9 months, 4 weeks ago
Good luck on those filters. There are some that will find ways around those "words" just as they have on other sites.
okzsapt 9 months, 4 weeks ago
I commend you on making this decision. I only wish it had been made much sooner but I appreciate the effort now.
DaveyNC 9 months, 4 weeks ago
I approve. Good moves, all of them. Thanks for providing a place for "spirited" debate. And get that reply button back!
bustedfriend 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Thank you Mr. Nagy.
TallShadow 9 months, 3 weeks ago
You may want to have someone look at the photos in the on line Classified Sections Estate Sales. The .jpg's are red X's on several different computers I use and appear as a blue box with a question mark on my smart phone. These images usually give the address of the sale.
Toda 9 months, 3 weeks ago
As I said to you (Mr. Nagy) and David Wornoff during your interview with me when I was a candidate, most of the clutter would be eliminated if writers had to reveal their true identities, secondly, a nominal annual fee to participate on the boards. Most small town newspapers are implementing a fee for short term - 3 months to 12 months at a time. Most credible writers who post threads reveal their names. It's the Cyber Twerps who continue to take offense to anyone trying to contribute to a blog using logical reasoning and researched information. Just my opinion ....
JohnANagy 9 months, 3 weeks ago
MikeNC, some who have created personas on our site use their real names when they register but create anonymous avatars. In those cases, yes, we know them. Others just sign in with an email address. We expect before too much longer to remedy that so that we will eventually know all people registered to our site. Undecided is whether we will continue to allow anonymous commenting. Some "drive-by" users have been deleted recently for significant violations in a short period of time.
JohnANagy 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Anonymous, we have a Twitter feed but have not been using it for a while. We are currently evaluating the best way to do that and whether people would derive value from it. Feedback relative to the Twitter issue would be welcome.
JohnANagy 9 months, 3 weeks ago
TallShadow, I believe the classifieds matter is on a list to be fixed. This is a technical issue beyond my means. But thanks for letting us know!
JohnANagy 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Toda, thanks. Fees, paywalls, etc. have been discussed, but like the matter of anonymous commenting, still unresolved. I'm in the camp that, like Facebook, attaching your true self to a comment acts as a governor of sorts. But I also know that some people need anonymity because they want to participate but otherwise are prevented from doing so for work or other reasons.
clodfelter37 9 months, 3 weeks ago
I like the anonymous as long as The Pilot knows true identity
MikeNC 9 months, 3 weeks ago
clodfelter37 1 hour, 48 minutes ago ...I like the anonymous as long as The Pilot knows true identity
I also feel that will work as well. As long as there is a way to keep the complete unknowns away....Most will adhere to common sense guidelines. Posting under a cool sounding avatar for the fun and 'privacy' it gives; while at the same time having your full name and contact information known by The Pilot should work for most. Thanks for your answer John....Mike
Thatcher 9 months, 3 weeks ago
I see both sides of the anonymous posting argument. To me, many who post here anonymously have done so without ever using vulgar language. In other words, being anonymous did not prevent them from being civil. Others have abused their anonymous status (often by simply changing names) to spew filth. I don't really care one way or the other. I will be civil, anonymous or not. Cheers!
Toda 9 months, 3 weeks ago
"need anonymity because they want to participate but otherwise are prevented from doing so for work or other reasons."
dustyrhoades 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Toda, that kind of moderation requires someone to do it pretty much full time, and I don't see the Pilot ever putting that much time and money into this.
dustyrhoades 9 months, 3 weeks ago
So what we're going to get is what we always get: neglect till things get out of hand, then indiscriminate deletions and bannings.
JohnANagy 9 months, 3 weeks ago
To Dusty's point, I'm sure everyone can identify in their business a need that really requires resouces (either time, money or both) that they just can't meet for whatever reason. So the solution for many folks in their respective line of work is to do the best they can to the extent they can. That's the way it is with monitoring commenting. Dusty's right, comment moderation requires around the clock work, and very few media operations (TV, newspaper, radio, blog, website) have the resources to fulfill that. We do the best we can to the extent we can and rely on a self-policing mechanism to alert us to matters as they need addressing. The alternative is just to abolish commenting, and that's not a very acceptable one.
cantstandya 9 months, 3 weeks ago
After reading some comments I find it strange that some who are showing such support of the new change have also been some of the abusers, I do not deny I have made some not so likeable comments but I have also had some trash thrown my way, hopefully that will be no more. Seems as if whenever our county leaders are in the news it is open season for some to attack openly, and in not such a flattering way, this is not really productive as our younger generation picks up on those remarks and starts to think that is the best way to solve political problems. With campaign season in full swing there will be and has already been much debate on healthcare, immigration and racial matters, it will prove interesting as to how you at the Pilot manage all the different opinions, or if they also will be closed for comment, I again recognize my past participation in commenting could have been done in a more intelligent manner, and will in the future convey, but I must beg that when I misspell, or use not so perfect punctuation just overlook my short comings, looking forward to a new start.
moonchild7 9 months, 3 weeks ago
I think most of these changes are appropriate, especially taking away the comments regarding criminal stories. I read some of the most horrible and hateful stuff many times and thought how badly a family might have to feel all over again due to some dis-respectful creep and their innapropriate meanderings. I'm not so sure about the "cussing" though since sometimes certain words bring about a much truer sense of meaning to one's feelings. I don't believe in censorship but I am also against the many threats and childish rants that have gone on the back and forth. As long as my MoonFace can be allowed to comment I will but if I have to reveal who I actually am, and I actually am somebody, well, then, I;ll have to keep my thoughts to myself, once again.
JD 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Volunteer mods. Solution to a lot of this just have to be screened by The Pilot. Pay to post is just wrong since ad revenue is generated by loading the page.
cantstandya 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Sounds as if many are on board and ready to have constructive comments made, now we will see when that first controversial article comes up, you know the ones that some disagree with others on. I also hope that the Pilot does not go overboard with their selective choices of what should and should not be available for comment.
Toda 9 months, 3 weeks ago
cantstandya ~ it seems that when one doesn't have the capacity to look up information or facts to refute what is written about a political candidate, they revert most often to personal attacks. That leads to a defensive posturing.
If you are referring about why I have dug my heels in to keep readers and voters informed about what is going on in Carthage, 99.9% of the voters and taxpayers in Poorer County are unaware of spending in Carthage. But they continue to talk about Washington. Of those 99.9% of unaware voters, 99.9% could care less ~ until it affects their bank account. Then the horse is out of the barn.
Toda 9 months, 3 weeks ago
By the way ~cantstandya ... your screen name evokes defense before the first word is written. Think about it ...
herecomesthescience 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Mr. Nagy, I look forward to some of the new changes on the site. One thing I would like to request it that we see more follow up stories to the breaking news headlines and other big news. It seems that we will see a headline for a story like "body found in xyz area" and we never hear of it again. It would be nice to see more reporting on these types of stories as opposed to just the cut and paste info after it hits Nixle or similar. I enjoy the paper, but it sometimes seems that 99% of the effort is put towards endless political stories and the endless repetitive left vs. right arguments. Thanks!
AFCHIEF 9 months, 3 weeks ago
TODA, FOR ONCE AND FOR ALL IT IS MOORE COUNTY, NOT POORER COUNTY.
Don't like Moore County move!!!!
Toda 9 months, 3 weeks ago
AFCHIEF 17 minutes ago
Raised in the great Town of Vass, when did you move here? More cyber craven cryptic animus!
cantstandya 9 months, 3 weeks ago
@Toda, I think that my comment covered a wide range of participants, was not singling out anyone, and as far as my screen name that was from and old Seinfeld episode, just knew this was not going to last long Mr. Nagy.