Our news coverage wouldn’t be possible without the support and engagement of our readers. We believe that public discourse is important to our society, and news plays a vital role in that process. In support of audience engagement, we’re making a change to the way readers interact with our content.
The Daily Barometer is removing comments from our website with the release of the September print issue. We made this decision to promote better channels for community engagement and communication with the Baro.
The system we have used in the past to approve and publish website comments lacks the immediacy and consistency that is offered by other platforms, such as social media. At the Baro, we don’t have the staff to effectively moderate and approve comments as they are submitted. Rather than support engaged readers, the inefficiency of our website comment feature can be a hindrance to public opinion.
We emphasize the value of our readers’ voices and gaining diverse perspectives on our stories. Our goal is to direct audiences toward better methods for engaging with us. We never aim to limit engagement nor censor our readers.
To participate in public discussions about our coverage, readers can comment on our social media posts via Instagram and Facebook. These comment sections don’t require approval, so comments can be published much faster than previous comment threads on our website.
Beyond social media forums, the Baro values your direct feedback on our news coverage. In the past, some readers have left suggestions for corrections or new information in a story’s online comment section. Our editing staff does not keep up with these comments as we evaluate our coverage.
We urge readers to submit a news tip when there are important topics we may not be covering yet. The news tip submission form can be found online under the “About” tab on our website. Additional concerns, criticisms and questions can be sent to [email protected] for our review.
For folks interested in sharing their own written content, we encourage submitting a Letter to the Editor to be considered for publication with the Baro. This submission form can also be found under the “About” tab on our website.
In a world of evolving technology and perpetual change, we thank you — our readers — for joining us on this journey. The Baro asks that our audience continues to engage with our content and provide us with feedback so we can continue serving the community.