The end (of an article/video) is just the beginning: the significance of online comments

In the old world of print-only newspaper journalism, once a journalist had sent his/her article to the editor it was job done and time to head to the bar. Feedback meant one of three things; a rocket from the editor for shoddy work, congratulations from colleagues or the once-in-a-blue-moon publication on the Letters Page of one reader’s thoughts on your article. Digital journalism has swept all this away, making publication merely an intermediate stage in the life of an article. But what are the real advantages of opening up an article to reader feedback? How should comments be moderated? And how important is the creation of an active and motivated community?

For background reading, see Emma Goodman's report Online comment moderation: emerging best practices for WAN-IFRA.