We Welcome Your Feedback

There is much to be learned from the comments people write on news stories, both the stupid ones and the smart ones. The interesting point that the writer left out. The flaw in their logic. The heartfelt, personal responses. The unbelievable prejudices that some people hold - all censors on this lifted by the anonymity that the internet provides. Or the thing you're simply surprised that nobody said.

I find it either fascinating or exasperating, depending on how close I am to the issue. After one too many frustrating reads of mindless finger pointing from both sides, I have banned myself from reading comments on BBC news stories about the Tamil-Sinhalese conflict. I am also starting to develop some snobbery about the quality of readers' arguments in different publications.

One of the nice things about present-day journalism is the ability to get instant global feedback, to literally watch (read) the dialogue over your article unfold, and to watch the hits and tweets and 'likes' and 'favourites' and roll in.

One of the less nice things about a world where everyone reads everything online from a multitude of sources, for free, without allegiance to (or habitual buying of) any one newspaper or publication, is that it's much harder to find your following, and to make it pay your bills.

The optimist in me thinks that in the long run it will probably make journalism better. But you don't want to know how the pessimist in me wanted to end that sentence.