Kiplinger Program User Comment Research

This research is designed to identify how the largest 100 newspapers in the United States collect and manage readers’ responses to news stories and blogs featured on their Web sites. Our goal is to determine which practices are most commonly used or recommended, and develop strategies that help newsrooms engage readers, share useful information and address inappropriate comments or other abuses.

The top 100 papers used in this study were identified through circulation figures cited on www.newspapers.com. To complete the research, the data collector registered on news sites (when required) and submitted comments to articles as well as blogs using the Internet during business hours, Monday through Friday. This research was completed during July, August and September of 2008. Comments submitted were all neutral, such as “thank you for this article,” “interesting—thanks,” or a similar sentiment. In all, 89 out of the 100 news sites had user comments on articles and 94 had user comments on blogs

The Boston Herald and Seattle Times require only an email address, username, and password. At the other end, three news sites (all in the top 25) ask for 11 pieces of information. Registration takes 10 to 40 seconds; the majority of sites send confirmation emails, often within one minute. These email confirmations allow news sites to verify the accuracy of email addresses registered. Note that far fewer news sites (32 percent) require registration to comment on blogs.

FOR THOSE NEWS SITES that require registration prior to submitting comments (on articles or blogs), registered users returning to those sites must log in with either an email address or username, along with a password. When registration is not required prior to submitting comments, users most often are asked to supply a name and email address (occasionally users must also identify their location and recall a security code). About half of the time, blogs provide the option to supply a personal webpage (URL) to post along with their comments.

Note that when registration is not required, news sites do not send confirmation emails to ensure the accuracy of email addresses supplied by users when they submit comments.

OF THE SITES that contain comments on articles, about three-quarters have options that relate to comments, such as “report abuse,” etc. The table below shows the percentages of time that various options appear with comments (all out of 89).

OUT OF THE 89 SITES that have comments on articles, over three-quarters posted them instantly. Out of these, 57 percent of the news sites 1) require registration, 2) post comments instantly, and 3) have “report abuse” as an option with the comments. The table on the next page shows other combinations of these variables.

Whether registration is required or how much information for registration is required;
The length of time between when comments are submitted and when they post;
How many opportunities user have to submit comments on articles (i.e. all or selected articles); or
How many features appear with comments (i.e. “report abuse”).

Future research will include interviews and open-ended surveys with news editors. We would appreciate your input on what types of questions we should ask, including, but not limited to:

How do newsrooms choose the articles that allow user comments?
Does requiring registration before submitting a comment cause fewer readers to engage with news sites?
Do users comment on articles or blogs more frequently?
Why do registration requirements and interactivity options for comments differ between articles and blogs?
How many newsroom staff are responsible for flagging inappropriate comments?
How do newsrooms define “inappropriate,” and what provisions are in place to prevent inappropriate comments?
Do newsroom staff moderate comments that do not post immediately after readers submit them?
Do newsroom staff moderate comments after posting them (if posted instantaneously)?
What do newsrooms do with all the comments that users post—are they used to guide future content or inform journalists about how well articles conveyed information?