Freep ends online comments, readers disagree on merits of decision | Letters to the Editor

Last week, Free Press Editor Nicole Avery Nichols announced that freep.com would no longer offer readers the chance to leave comments on stories. The Free Press values engagement, but safe, productive online conversation requires a significant investment of staffers' time. "While we believe in the importance of engagement, we are making the hard choice to move away from the space," Avery Nichols wrote. She encouraged readers to follow the Free Press on social media, reach out to staffers via the email addresses included in their bylines or to submit letters to the editor at freep.com/letters.

Comments are the essence of free speech

I am a Free Press subscriber.

The suppression of free speech is a very serious threat to the American way of life, our standards, and our Constitutional rights. Media platforms restricting free speech threaten the very existence of our country.

Therefore, the decision to eliminate the comment section because of the overhead cost of "moderating" these online discussions reveals a callous and haughty attitude toward speech itself. Why should you care about the content of the comments? If some "quickly devolve," let these comments speak for themselves. That is the essence of free speech.

If you do not believe in the concept of free speech, you all don't belong in an organization that advertises itself as the "Free Press." In other words, you are a hypocrite, and the Free Press is hypocritical, unfortunately mirroring the attitude of most so-called liberal institutions these days.

I urge you all to quickly rethink this policy change and reverse it immediately. And on a personal level, some very serious soul-searching.

Dave Tarrant

Grosse Pointe Farms

Removing comments is a great move

I think this is a great move. Large and small media outlets have been removing comments from their sites for several years for the reasons you've stated. 

It's telling that the reaction to this news has been rife with claims of shutting down "free speech" (an example of the unknowledgeable/uninformed nature of so many of the comments), blaming the "other side" (right or left, depending on the commenter's biases) — usually with the requisite name-calling and innuendo. In short, the comment sections quickly and inevitably devolve into childishness and outright vulgarity. Surely this is an embarrassment to any media outlet that considers itself to be professional.

I therefore applaud the Free Press' decision. (I would even ask "what took you so long?") I expect the Detroit News to follow suit before long.

Michael Piesik

Sebring, Florida

Comments are the newspaper's eyes and ears

Removing a way for readership to engage your newspaper and writers is a mistake especially due to funding of resources. The way news is delivered to readers is changing and requires adaptation. Removing feedback is to close the newspaper's eyes and ears — and leaving the way to communicate through social media is unwise as those sites are increasingly censored and commercialized. What a shame.Jesse Cruz

Potterville

I don't blame you guys for removing comments

With the vitriol on the internet and overall interpersonal climate in the world, I'm surprised you guys made it this long with a comments section without losing your minds!

I don't blame you.

Justin Reaume

Delafield, Wisconsin

Letters to the editor can't replace comments

Censorship from a newspaper? This is a pathetic solution to your dilemma, to permit comments or not. For all the talk about the need to protect the free speech of journalists it’s just self-protective malarky if it is not extended to the people. Freedom of the press is useless if it does not reflect the people. People want to talk about sports, about the "news" — which is seems currently defined as anything that happened anywhere, or anything anyone said, these days. Comments tied to articles are wanted, not forcing people to only use the filtered, censored and deemed “printworthy” letters to the editor.I will not renew my Free Press subscription.

Charley Bird

Sterling Heights  

I applaud your decision

I was just surfing the net because I had a few free minutes of free time. I clicked on the story about the Freep’s decision to eliminate the ability to comment on its website. Sadly, this is what the world has come to, and I applaud your decision to do so.

I am an older (aged 69) member of the community. I cannot say that I read the Free Press, or The Detroit News, or even watch the news — at all. I am not on social media whatsoever. There is plenty of “good” in the world, but I sometimes feel the bad outweighs the good and for that reason I do not expose myself to the daily news.

I am sure it was a difficult decision to eliminate the comments section, but from the few times I have allowed myself to read online comments — no matter the website or the subject matter — the keyboard bullies have to put in their two cents.

I hope that the Freep continues to flourish and that your readers accept this change in policy.

Carolyn Urbanik

Macomb

You won't know how readers feel without comments

I am so disappointed in your decision to no longer offer the comment section. I understand the business side, however, how will you ever know how your readers feel about these articles? I no longer use Facebook or Instagram. I find the vitriol spewed unacceptable. Therefore, I so very much enjoy reading the comments section of the articles. Maybe you will reconsider.

Barbara Kuspa

Brownstown Township

Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Free Press ends online comments on articles