You gotta applaud Google for its recent decision to allow people to comment on news stories in which they are featured. Reminds me of the March 2007 post by journalist/blogger Tom Foremski, in which he argues that "the right to respond" should be a rule of engagement on the Internet.
"Publishing a response to a critic is not enough because it is unlikely to be ranked on the first page of search results. Similarly, if a critic were to change their mind about a company, an individual, or product-the search engines could still be serving up the original complaint on that crucial first page of results. This is a serious problem in terms of reputation management for companies, and it will increasingly affect individuals too as they seek new jobs, new partners, etc."
I agree with Tom, and in the age of conversation, it seems odd - if not unfair - that the subject of a news story cannot directly comment on or refute the story. But while this may be a big step for Google, it's a relatively small step for Internet journalism. Until news organizations uniformly begin to allow comments, the "Right to Respond" will remain elusive.
Technorati Tags: Google News, Tom Foremski, Right to Respond
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