McClatchy's Editor’s Blog turned 145 today

I’ll bet you know about the Raleigh News & Observer’s shamelessly biased and inflammatory Duke lacrosse "reporting" that began on Mar. 24.

But do you know about the Editor's Blog? That's where N&O executive editor for news Melanie Sill is supposed to engage in "interactive journalism" with readers.

Gary Pruitt, the CEO of the N&O’s owner, The McClatchy Company, has spent gobs of company money training his journalists in “how to do interactive journalism.” He's then provided them with blogs like Sill’s.

Pruitt believes “interactive journalism” is a great service to readers that will also enable McClatchy to reap profits. He tells stockholders not to worry about McClatchy’s stock falling in the last two years from a high just above 70 to the low 40's. (Yesterday, July 17, McClatchy closed at 41.04) “Interactive journalism” will imporve the quality of newspapers and put the company back on the high road.

I thought about all of that today when the Editor's Blog turned 145.

But I didn't send Melanie a cake or congratulatory email. That's because turning 145 at the Editor’s Blog is nothing to celebrate. At least it isn’t if you believe in “interactive journalism.” And it’s certainly nothing to celebrate if you’re a long-suffering McClatchy stockholder.

Here’s why.

One hundred forty-five is the number of comments on the thread of Sill’s most recent Duke lacrosse post.

Sill put that post up on June 19. That's more than 4 weeks ago. She hasn't put a Duke lacrosse post up since.

On July 7 Sill told readers commenting on the thread - almost every one of whom was critical of the N&O’s Duke lacrosse “reporting” – that she wouldn’t be making any more comments there. She’d post again when she had something new to say about Duke lacrosse.

Let's look at what’s happened since.

In the next five days there were 31 comments. Sill clearly hadn’t succeeded in discouraging the readers from commenting.

Then on July 12 - PRESTO – Sill appeared again on the comment thread. She corrected a reader on a detail of story location in that day’s N&O.

Then - PRESTO - Sill was gone again. She hasn’t been back since.

But look at what the readers have been doing.

As of this morning, July 18, there have been 60 more comments on the thread; almost every one of them lengthy, fact-filled and pointing to important aspects of the case the N&O has either underreported or ignored.

Some comments suggest a possible link between the framing of the players and an attempt to protect people involved in prostitution in Durham. The information being offered to support that suggestion is impressive. It warrants investigation. But Sill and the N&O are hiding from it.

Sill claims she needs to spend her blog time on other matters that readers are demanding she talk about.

Really?

As of this morning, Sill has put up a total of 10 posts since June 19.

One of those posts was a "rah-rah" supporting the New York Times' national security disclosures. It drew 21 comments, a few of which were Sill’s telling readers how lucky they are to have newspapers that disclose national security secrets. The other comments were critical of Sill’s “your right to know" baloney.

What about the other 9 posts Sill’s put up during the past four weeks?

Between them they’ve drawn a total of 14 comments, counting ones from Sill.

Sure I’ll repeat that: In the past 4 weeks the 9 posts have drawn a total of only 14 comments.

How about that!

The 145 comment thread is one of a number of Duke lacrosse threads at the Editor’s Blog on which readers have expressed outrage and asked questions, most of which have been ignored or received outright misleading answers. The comments number well into the hundreds.

“Interactive journalism” at the Editor’s Blog.

Good luck, stockholders.