LANSING, Ill. (January 3, 2024) – Over the years The Lansing Journal has developed a number of policies that are published as pages on our website. As a way to ensure our readers are aware of those policies, we plan to publish each of these pages as an article that will be delivered in the Daily News.
The Lansing Journal believes that communication should be straightforward and concise, and we try not to get embroiled in legalese, red tape, or complicated forms. Our policies do contain the necessary legal language, but we hope they also are helpful and clear guides to the way we conduct business.
Comment policy
The Lansing Journal is a community newspaper, and our community comprises diverse opinions. We do allow commenting on posts, and our purpose in doing so is to give readers opportunity to engage with the content — whether that content is a news article or an opinion such as those in our “Lansing Voices” feature. Our formal comment policy is a work in progress, and these are some of the guidelines that currently shape it:
1. We will not allow personal attacks.
Readers may certainly disagree with an author, but disagreement should be expressed in terms of the content.
2. We expect thoughtfulness and respect from all contributors.
Related to #1, we expect commenters to express themselves thoughtfully and respectfully, whether they agree or disagree with the content they are responding to.
3. We will rarely allow anonymity.
Our comment form requests that people submit a name and email. (Including your email allows you to be notified as other people respond to your comment.) Sometimes commenters provide a false name and a made-up email. In most cases, not all, this is a cowardly choice. Real engagement and real conversation require real names. If we suspect that the name and email address are false, we will send an email to the address given and ask for a response. If no response is given, the comment will not be posted.
4. Remember, comments have a limited audience.
Comments are not necessarily a direct conversation with the author of the post (depending on whether the author has a linked account on the site). And the subject of an article — whether it’s an elected official, a local centenarian, or an honor student at one of our schools — does not receive any kind of notification when a comment is posted. Readers who want to ask questions, express disagreement, or extend birthday greetings are welcome to do so but should be aware that their comments won’t necessarily reach the person they are commenting about.
We welcome your input on this Comment policy
Email the Publisher directly ([email protected]) to offer further input on this comment policy. It is a living document that we will update as new situations develop, and we appreciate our community’s involvement in developing it.
Related
- Advertising policy
- Comment policy
- Corrections policy
- Donor transparency policy
- Local Voices (Letters to the Editor) policy
- Privacy policy
- Sexual harassment policy
Questions about any of these policies may be directed to Melanie Jongsma, Publisher:
