I don’t pen too many commentaries on East Cobb News about hot topics of the day, because readers are usually pretty good about letting us know what they think. I’d rather feature their perspectives, and we let anyone leave a comment on any post that we publish here.
But sometimes it all becomes too much, as I wrote in an Editor’s Note Saturday about the Cobb school board’s vote last week to discontinue airing of public comments.
I was not impressed with board’s action nor the superintendent’s rationale, because those with valid criticisms won’t be heard beyond the meeting room. The public is ill-served by that, and the Cobb school district comes across as thin-skinned.
But while East Cobb News wants to foster robust discussion of important topics, the performative rage of the digital media world sometimes makes meaningful dialogue impossible.
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As frequent commenters were giving the school board an earful on Thursday, some East Cobb News readers were being abusive to one another, and to me, on a social media page where I had posted a story about an anti-Trump political rally.
I had to take down comments that violated our comments policy, and banish one user in particular who had no intention of posting in good faith. I don’t like to do these things.
He and others accused me of being a typical media liberal for just posting a news story, calling it propaganda. Someone who read my commentary Saturday thinks East Cobb News is a “MAGA rag.”
Both characterizations are as lazy as they are inaccurate.
When the media doesn’t confirm the priors of partisans, that’s what you hear, and I’m used to it after more than 40 years in the news business.
But I know that so many other readers appreciate that we don’t whip up our audience into a frenzy about overheated stories. Some go out of their way to tell us this, emphatically.
We have never shied away from covering stories that inflame passions, but there’s a better way to do it than what some zealous individuals demand.
We want readers to be able to chime in and have discussions about important stories, and for the most part, they behave. On the rare occasions they don’t, we take action, because we don’t want our site or social media channels to become toxic and drive people away.
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It’s a delicate balance that I have tried to adjust to for as long as I have published East Cobb News.
We work hard to give you unique local news and community information, and we don’t charge for it.
So if you find what you read here of value, please consider supporting the work East Cobb News does.
Your donation of $6, $12, or even $25 a month helps us to tell countless stories—keeping you informed about what’s happening in East Cobb. And your contribution delivers the news to readers everywhere—via e-mail, social media, and of course, at eastcobbnews.com.
When you support East Cobb News, you ensure stories don’t slip through the cracks. Every story we tell matters, regardless of he subject.
We do it without ginning up stories to get you to click, or to stoke your outrage for no good reason.
Please don’t take that for granted!
I got a nice e-mail today from a reader who’s a former media executive who told me that “I admire anyone who is willing to create and run a media company in today’s environment.”
It’s incredibly hard, all right, and this last week tested my resolve significantly. More than anything, I would deeply appreciate your financial contribution to continue providing you with this community news resource.
When you give to East Cobb News, you ensure quality coverage with a local focus that is free and accessible to all.
Nobody else is doing this in our community, and our plans are to keep giving you the local news that you love for a long time to come.
Let us know what you think about all of this: e-mail me: wendy@eastcobbnews.com. I’d like to hear from you.
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