Brainerd Dispatch is in the process of conducting an audience survey. After our first eight days into the survey, one thing was clear — our audience respondents were unequivocally fed up with VOX POP.
Many stated that it was unfair. I’ll let them tell you what they think of the column: “You lost me when you put in Vox Pop. This garbage does not belong in a newspaper, especially when people can ridicule and criticize others, and generally rip people up and down without signing their name.” Another responded in a similar manner: “First of all, it shouldn’t even be allowed. I will NEVER support any publication that allows this.” That was followed by this comment: “It might be a popular thing, but it is not the RIGHT or APPROPRIATE thing. GET RID OF VOX POP!” This one caught my attention for obvious reasons: “If for nothing else, journalistic integrity. I do not like the anonymity of the Vox Pop and the hateful, name-calling online comments.” “Vox Pop needs to go. I’m sure it gets views, but it’s mostly the same people whining. Sign your name, or don’t complain,” said this disgruntled member of the Dispatch audience. This one was blunt and to the point: “Mostly- Vox Pop is a joke!” “I trust the Brainerd Dispatch to be accurate, except for Vox Pop. I believe you do offer many perspectives on many issues and that you report school stories fairly. I do not think Vox Pop is constructive for interests beyond selling newspapers, or that after 10 years of this anonymous, negative, often incorrect column that the Dispatch can claim it helps anyone but the Dispatch,” Ouch! “Notwithstanding the fact that I have been personally named and personally criticized — my lot as a public figure — the overall negativity and base opinion often registered does not, in my thinking, become much of a ‘draw’ for others who might want to join our community,” said one person who received critiques.
After discussing the future of Vox Pop in our department head meeting last week, it was determined to confine Vox Pop to the Dispatch web site. It was as though we were cancelling Jerry Springer’s contract. Vox Pop will no longer appear in the print edition of the Dispatch.
There are many other ways to voice one’s opinion without cutting others to shreds and identify one’s self in the process. We allow audience members to sound off in our Open Forum segment of the commentary page.
Our decision was an overwhelming consensus of department heads that Vox Pop needed to go from the pages of your newspaper. It will be redesigned in the near future to avoid personal name calling and yet allow members of our audience to state one’s opinion without fear of reprisal.
—Keith Hansen
Comments (27)
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I have not had a subscription or even bought a Dispatch for many years simply because of the Vox Pop column. I have even refused to advertise in the Dispatch. I have told this to multiple people at the Dispatch offices whenever the situation presented itself; with agreement from some staff. It was all about allowing an anonymous writer to voice opinions which were not necessarily substantiated or true. More often than not, they tended toward libel and character defamation. If you redesign it, please make some effort to check on the claims people make to verify the facts and leave out any personal attacks. You seem to be bringing back journalistic integrity. Vox Pop is, in my opinion, an example of what is most wrong with this country. It is time for constructive dialogue and conversation instead of the name calling and polarizing comments. I will start buying my local newspaper again. Now, if only the online crowd would bring it down a notch...
voxpop
I enjoyed Voxpop if for nothing else the entertainment valu. It was fun to see just how clueless some people can be when they didn't have to worry about being identified. I think the Dispatch is making a mistake. Why do I get the feeling that those who oppose Voxpop are the same ones who would ban certain books or movies if they had the power? I don't recall Voxpop being REQUIRED reading for anyone.
Well Keith, the same thing could be said about your
on line forum. The only ones who complain about VoxPop, are the ones either being targeted by something in the column, or some know it all on a particular subject. As for signing your name, like the Open Forum; this paper prints letters from the same people every week. VoxPop comes from the Latin Vox populi, meaning "Voice of the people". When one writes in with an entry, it is from their point of view on a particular subject. Some times not signing your name is also a form of safety, in that there are a lot of crazy people with a singular view, that have no problem with going after the writer. In my opinion, you are censoring your paper to align yourself with one train of thought; much like the editorial page is now!
confusing
"Many stated that it was an unfair."
Unfair what, Keith?
Vox Pop (in body of story) or VoxPop (headline), Keith?
Let's go with names online, too.
I'll start with mine: Noah Webster.
What!!?
You people don't find any value in hearing someone complain about their neighbors not cleaning up their dog poop?
It's about time but...
Why are the standards different for online than they are for print? My assumption is that since people said they dropped paying for the print version as it offended them and they need that revenue back. Since online readers are not required to pay they get to continue seeing this piece of entertainment be placed in the opinion section.
The problem wasn't that you had this trash allowed in the print version, it's that as a newspaper that claims journalistic standards that you even allow this type of content to be credited to your publication.
DFL censorship.
The local DFL must be on a letter writing blitz to conform to the best interests of the "Party" or else! :)
As this author points out, "banning unsigned online comments
undermines the media’s role as a forum for debate. (http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=4916)
"In an era when the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment does not apply to public employees who point out the mistakes of their superiors, and people can lose their jobs for making statements that somebody might construe as "disrespectful," real people with serious opinions need anonymity to exercise their most basic democratic rights: to dissent, to criticize, to advocate and to debate controversies. If journalists try to silence the "haters and hollerers" by banning anonymous comments online, they also will silence the poor, the vulnerable and the dispossessed. Such a ban would represent a drastic overreaction."
richrule peasantsdrool -- you
richrule peasantsdrool -- you are wrong is assuming the only people who don't like vox pop are the targets. I have never been a target, but I think vox pop is the most irresponsible part of the paper. allowing people to say anything (and the paper never fact-checks or prints clarifications), allowing people to say whatever without being held accountable by their names is just wrong. You don't agree with something? Stand up and say so. I'm sick of the "persecution" mentality. Some of the commenters in vox pop do deserve to be held accountable for their words. Put your name with your public statement (it IS public, afterall), so people can measure your words accordingly.
Also, I found this statement in the Dispatch article strange, "There are many other ways to voice one’s opinion without cutting others to shreds and identify one’s self in the process." Yet they are going to allow the nameless, faceless name-calling and facts-are-irrelevant online version to stand. So it's not ok to attack someone in print, but it is ok to attack someone, even using misquotes and mistruths, as long as you do it online? Gee, Dispatch, thanks for your public service.
Far too much free speech going on around here!
"Time for a crackdown.
Take care of it, Hansen! Chop Chop!"
Here's the real scoop: A certain member of the Dispatch Advisory Board cries like a little baby and the editorial staff falls in line without a word of protest.
"Remove Vox Pop? The voice of the people? Aye, captain!"
Pathetic.
All animals are equal
...but some animals are more equal than others.
"A certain member of
the Advisory Board..."
Now that certain member would not be associated with the local DFL would they?:)
Seriously , I agree that Vox Pop crosses the line at times and on the same hand, find it amusing at times as well. All Vox Pop really is a public sounding board like graffiti on bathroom walls back in the day. The only difference is there is control over what becomes published for the viewing public. I would bet that more is placed in the circular file than what is published.
Think you have it wrong...
Vox Pop was doing fine when the paper was run by those who tried to take a neutral, reasoned stance in editing and editorials.
It's only upon the arrival of a far right, highly biased new editor--who by the way has been criticized in vox pop's--that it disappears. There have been submissions to Vox pop critical of the far right bias editorials in the paper which have not been printed lately as well--perhaps that is another reason the paper would want to drop it.
The reality is that the dispatch always had the ability to edit or censor vox pop's that were particularly outrageous, knowingly false, or attacked an individual.
They chose not to do so. When criticism of Vox Pop showed up in the paper their ability to edit and purge such submissions was pointed out every time. It always seemed to me that their role in such review of unsigned opinions was greater than that of signed ones--yet they seemed to post them as submitted.
Thus the reasoning for dropping this rings hollow--they had every reason and the ability to take the sting and outrageousness out of vox pop's but chose not to do so.
RHINO
Try this....counted...found to be majority...then burned(shut down).
Nope
Read it again.
"especially when people can ridicule and criticize others, and generally rip people up and down"
"hateful, name-calling online comments"..."negative, often incorrect column "..."I have been personally named and personally criticized "
Every one of those criticisms was very much in the power of the dispatch to deal with.
Again, they chose not to. Now--with a new politically motivated skipper at the helm--they change.
Certainly is convenient!
Vox Pop was nothing but a
Vox Pop was nothing but a refuge for those who wanted to libel people without accountability, so I guess it's not surprising how many liberals are lamenting it's demise in the print edition. Still, it's worth pointing out that it's not the Brainerd Dispatch's responsibility to provide a print forum for cowards. If you want to spout off in print, you can buy yourself a printer for under $100 dollars and try handing out fliers down on Sixth and Laurel. Good luck with that.
private
I love how you guys complain about people not signing their names to things when writing. How about this you are hiding your screen name. That's no better then people that write to vox pop.
I agree w/Proudrino
the Dispatch has many avenues to pursue if they wish to (properly) edit out potentially libelous material submitted to Vox Pop. They might be choosing to silence all contrary voices, however. Prepare yourselves.
A quick Easter p.s.: He is Risen. He is Risen, indeed!
(As a Christian, that's just my opinion for this day, and all days forward.)
Moving on. Who determines editorial content of Brainerd Dispatch? I presume it's the folks with the money? (the owners?) Aren't they the ones who also decide on these issues of Vox Pop? Keith Hansen works for the owners, was hired by the owners, and that's what they want, right? Please correct me if I'm off base on this. Seems to make sense.
By the way, hey Juan . . . do tell more! (before all "contrary"
voices are shut down in this paper!) You're a teaser, indeed!
Thank you Brainerd Dispatch
I know that it was probably a tough decision to drop the Vox Pop but in my opinion it was the right decision.
Mark
Why not VoxPop with editing, in your opinion?
Okay, she just said "[filtered word]" -- that must not be allowed!
OMG. Lordy, lordy -- GCB said some really not-nice stuff about -- GCB's. So, what's all of this stuff about the Brainerd Dispatch not allowing . . . Vox Pop? Is that because someone got their feelings hurt? Seriously, what IS up with that?
David Strand -- We look forward to hearing more from you
Thanks, David.
Hey, Keith
What's up with "that"?