How Grown Up Is America About Race? CBSNews.com Turns Off Comments on Obama Stories

[BurtWorm]

Actually, is *forced* to turn off the comments...


http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2007/05/04/publiceye/entry2761854.shtml


Posted by Brian Montopoli

(AP Photo)
Today CBSNews.com informed its staff via email that they should no longer enable comments on stories about presidential candidate Barack Obama. The reason for the new policy, according to the email, is that stories about Obama have been attracting too many racist comments.

"It's very simple," Mike Sims, director of News and Operations for CBSNews.com, told me. "We have our Rules of Engagement. They prohibit personal attacks, especially racist attacks. Stories about Obama have been problematic, and we won't tolerate it."

CBSNews.com does sometimes delete comments on an individual basis, but Sims said that was not sufficient in the case of Obama stories due to "the volume and the persistence" of the objectionable comments.

There has been a fierce debate about how news outlets should handle reader comments. Washingtonpost.com's Jim Brady, whose site, like CBSNews.com, does not have the resources to filter comments in advance, told Howard Kurtz that he'd "rather figure out a way to do it better than not to do it at all."

But Post reporter Darryl Fears told Kurtz that comments should be eliminated if they can't be pre-screened for offensiveness.

"If you're an African American and you read about someone being called a porch monkey, that overrides any positive thing that you would read in the comments," he said.

[RufusTFirefly]

1. Racism is the thread that runs throughout American history

The sooner we accept this and truly correct it, the better off we'll be.

[Kerrytravelers]

2. What wonderful human beings share the Earth with me.

It is sickening. Just sickening.

[Grandrose]

3. This is HORRIBLE!!!

However, expected. :argh:

[mikelgb]

4. they should let the comments stand

let the world see

[tgnyc]

8. as a black man, I agree. Don't sweep it under the carpet. Let America

see itself.

[northernsoul]

10. "daylight is the best disinfectant"

I'm inclined to agree with you, but I do worry about giving the haters out there unlimited pubic fora from which to spew their bile.

[originalpckelly]

5. Well, of course. I mean in a country where Rush Limbaugh...

can literally make a song called "Barak the Magic N***o" and still be on the air, this is not surprising one bit at all.

[Karenina]

6. America is an incredibly racist nation in denial.

The ROTW saw it CLEARLY after Katrina. Amis on the whole have yet to acknowledge it.

[mikelgb]

7. honestly

can't wait for the RNC convention and the terrific display of human nature that will be

i'm sure they will top the purple heart band-aid 100 times over

[w4rma]

9. Most of America and the world is racist as heck. (nt)

[Catherine Vincent]

11. It must be those Yahoo posters.

They need somewhere to go.

[gaspee]

13. Did Yahoo

stop accepting comments on stories? There were a bunch of whackos over there. I avoided their comment section because they were so disgusting.

[Catherine Vincent]

14. Yes. The last time I checked there message boards went away.

I think it's because of all the racists messages. No matter what the topic was, it was turned into a race thing.

[gaspee]

12. Anyone still think

Obama can win in a general election in the racist USofA?

I'd like to believe it... I don't think a woman can win, either.

I can't stand when people say racism doesn't exist anymore. Do they live in a hole?

[bamacrat]

15. We arent at all.

All people should get over their race and just relax. Sometimes people can go too far ala Michael Richards. and then there are others who are targeted for the sake of someone getting some air time.

[skipos]

16. I like Obama and he may be my pick but ya gotta admit

his race will make his election a bit more challenging.

And I don't believe for a second that racists are all Republicans who would never vote for a Dem anyway. I know PLENTY of a$$holes and bigots who voted for Kerry.