The editors of the Ann Arbor News have banned me from commenting on their news articles. This is all because I posted some comments critical of their censorship of commenters and their editorial decisions.
This started with an article that they posted regarding the investigation by Ann Arbor Police of an alleged assault by UM football player, Taylor Lewan, on some Ohio State football fans after the UM/OSU football game [1]. The Ann Arbor News article had very little information in it and made it sound like Taylor Lewan was just in the area of the fight rather than him actually being the assailant. One of the commenters on the article posted a link to the original story [2]. The censors at the AA News removed the link and posted the following comment.
· “Comments that link to an unverified account of the incident, as well as comments that contain speculation, have been removed per the community rules”
I took exception to that and wrote several comments critical of the editorial policy because the editor was treating the readers as if they could not read an article on the web and make up their own mind about whether or not it was credible. The editor then posted a threatening comment of her own.
· “Comments about moderation should be posted on the Community Talk blog, not here, and those who are refusing to follow that rule despite being well aware of it will be suspended”
I replied to her comment by pointing out that some of my comments that she had removed were not about the moderation policy but about the lack of information in the article. She then barred me from commenting on any article in perpetuity.
She then had an email exchange with me saying, among other things;
· When we report information, such as in the Nassif case, we know that our reporters have done their due diligence and we can stand behind what they've reported. When we aggregate, we are careful only to aggregate from credible, respected, professional news sources. Generally speaking, we don't allow commenters to link to non-professional sources with information we can't independently verify, because we have no idea what sort of reporting methods they have used.
· You seem to be under the erroneous impression that it's your job to inform our readers. It is not. On our site, you are a commenter, and you are expected to follow the rules like anyone else.
The original source of the Lewan story was not a personal blog but rather a professional sports blog published in partnership with CBS Sports. That is what they are calling an unverified source.
If any of my readers would like to help me get back on the AA New website, please let the editors know that you want to read my comments.
If you have an AA News account you could post a comment wherever you think appropriate saying “Please unblock Douglas Smith at Washtenaw Watchdogs” or you can send an email to the editors or publishers of the AA News.
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Or you can email the President of MLive on their contact page;
http://www.mlivemediagroup.com/about/contact-us/email-president-form/
Thank you for any support you can give me to fight the corporate censorship of the local news media.
[1] http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2013/12/police_investigating_whether_t.html#incart_river_default
[2] http://ohiostate.247sports.com/Article/Michigans-Lewan-Accused-Of-Assault-167623
This started with an article that they posted regarding the investigation by Ann Arbor Police of an alleged assault by UM football player, Taylor Lewan, on some Ohio State football fans after the UM/OSU football game [1]. The Ann Arbor News article had very little information in it and made it sound like Taylor Lewan was just in the area of the fight rather than him actually being the assailant. One of the commenters on the article posted a link to the original story [2]. The censors at the AA News removed the link and posted the following comment.
· “Comments that link to an unverified account of the incident, as well as comments that contain speculation, have been removed per the community rules”
I took exception to that and wrote several comments critical of the editorial policy because the editor was treating the readers as if they could not read an article on the web and make up their own mind about whether or not it was credible. The editor then posted a threatening comment of her own.
· “Comments about moderation should be posted on the Community Talk blog, not here, and those who are refusing to follow that rule despite being well aware of it will be suspended”
I replied to her comment by pointing out that some of my comments that she had removed were not about the moderation policy but about the lack of information in the article. She then barred me from commenting on any article in perpetuity.
She then had an email exchange with me saying, among other things;
· When we report information, such as in the Nassif case, we know that our reporters have done their due diligence and we can stand behind what they've reported. When we aggregate, we are careful only to aggregate from credible, respected, professional news sources. Generally speaking, we don't allow commenters to link to non-professional sources with information we can't independently verify, because we have no idea what sort of reporting methods they have used.
· You seem to be under the erroneous impression that it's your job to inform our readers. It is not. On our site, you are a commenter, and you are expected to follow the rules like anyone else.
The original source of the Lewan story was not a personal blog but rather a professional sports blog published in partnership with CBS Sports. That is what they are calling an unverified source.
If any of my readers would like to help me get back on the AA New website, please let the editors know that you want to read my comments.
If you have an AA News account you could post a comment wherever you think appropriate saying “Please unblock Douglas Smith at Washtenaw Watchdogs” or you can send an email to the editors or publishers of the AA News.
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Or you can email the President of MLive on their contact page;
http://www.mlivemediagroup.com/about/contact-us/email-president-form/
Thank you for any support you can give me to fight the corporate censorship of the local news media.
[1] http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2013/12/police_investigating_whether_t.html#incart_river_default
[2] http://ohiostate.247sports.com/Article/Michigans-Lewan-Accused-Of-Assault-167623
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