Russ Steele
Have you visited the Union Blog lately? Not much citizens activity, mainly staff posting comments. Many of the citizen posters on the blog, and reader who comment on news items hide their real identity with funny names and hidden profiles. This all came to mind when I read this column in the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle by Peter Scheer, a lawyer and journalist, and executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition. You can read the whole column here. But, this was the part that resonated with me:
There are lessons here for fledgling bloggers and other practitioners of Citizen Media, particularly blogs that offer news and opinion focused on particular geographic communities. These online publications hold tremendous promise as competitors for local newspapers and as vehicles for self-expression by residents who previously had no means, save the occasional letter to the editor, to make their voices heard.
These blogs, however, will not be taken seriously if their authors persist in hiding their identities. Bloggers must take responsibility for what they write. . . .
. . . Similarly, there are lessons here for newspapers and other media outlets that, in their rush to convert sleepy Web sites into Web 2.0 engines of economic growth, turn over large sections of their online real estate to readers who post anonymously. This shortcut to increased Web site traffic is a mistake. Newspapers should not allow anonymous postings to their Web site, any more than they allow anonymous contributions to their op-ed pages. Persons who post comments on a newspaper's Web site should be required to give their names, unless they can show a good reason not to.
Most anonymous speech is just digital graffiti. Although it is protected from government regulation under the First Amendment, private publishers - whether bloggers or news media Web sites - have a duty to take responsibility for materials that they publish. In all but the most extreme cases, taking responsibility means identifying the author.
When scanning the comments on articles, or checking the latest citizen voices I give little attention to those who are anonymous. If they are unwilling to give their names and stand behind their words, they do not deserve my attention. I think that The Union should review their policy of allowing people to hide behind "handles" or euphemisms that hide their identity. Given the lack of posters and the lack of readers, they may want to change their policy. When I write, I stand behind my words. When Martin and George write on thier blogs they stand behind their words. Why not the writers on the Union Blog and news article comments.
