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Mar 24, 2022

Media: Allowing anonymity to viewers making comments

 Be an "INSIDER"?

In looking up info on a story about confederate monuments in Jacksonville, Florida (where I lived for a year) I came across stories with comments by station "Insiders"...no names, just their opinions. (You can see some at the bottom of the linked story)

WJAX-CBS 47 blacked out for U-verse, DirecTV customers 

Here's how WJAX-TV (The CBS station there) explains who the "insiders" are:

Support News4Jax. Become an Insider.


As the most trusted source of local news, News4JAX is the team you count on when a story breaks. But we couldn’t do it without the community’s support, whether it’s a news tip or the side to a story we haven’t heard before.

There’s no better way to support the work we’re doing than joining News4JAX Insider, a membership program that connects viewers with the inner workings of our newsroom — providing a way to help inform the stories we tell, along with access to exclusive perks.

Insiders receive unique opportunities to share feedback through callouts and surveys, gain access to never-before-seen content and get recognition for their contributions to the News4JAX community.

What is News4Jax Insider?


It’s a membership program that brings you into the news gathering process. Insider tools include (here they list supposed benefits) 
=========================================================================
 
I've asked the station how much anonymity is guaranteed for "insiders". Under what circumstances would they disclose the actual name. Here's how the station's Audience Development Director replied:

Insiders can pick the name and photo they’d like to display to the rest of Insider community and non-Insiders in the conversation section of stories.
If they choose to use their real name and photo, that’s up to them.

If you’re not an Insider, you can see story comments but can’t leave a comment. You can also see Insiders’ names and photos. 

If an Insider chooses not to use their real name, we would not reveal it to the public. Not sure about subpoenas. I don’t think we’ve dealt with that, yet.

 

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