Online commenting has returned to Dispatch.com
We named the opinion section The Conversation because we want to hear from you, and we offer many opportunities for discussion.
One is the traditional letters to the editor, which appear in print and on Dispatch.com.
Another traditional form is submitted op-ed columns, which also appear in print and online.
Letters of 200 words or less and opeds in the range of 400-550 words can be emailed to www.dispatch.com/letters. Op-ed columns should include a head-and-shoulders portrait and a bio of no more than two sentences about the author – with links to the website of the author's organization and relevant citations within the column.
Pre-pandemic, we hosted forums and various staff members were part of panel discussions or guest speakers at meetings of local service organizations – always making time for questions and conversations. We have been part of some virtual events in the past year, and we are eager to get back to those events as soon we are free from the coronavirus and able to meet in person again.
Opinion and Engagement Editor Amelia Robinson has added some additional layers to the conversation by conducting short video interviews with some op-ed columnists, allowing you to see and hear both Robinson and the authors as they discuss topics raised by the authors.
Robinson also is promoting and engaging with readers in The Columbus Dispatch Conversation Facebook group, which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/groups/ Columbusdispatchconversation.
As Robinson recently described it in
an announcement on Facebook, “This group was designed as a platform for conversations that move our communities, state, and nation forward. We hope it is a place where people can have productive exchanges about issues that they care about with a focus on topics affecting Columbus area residents.”
Robinson serves as moderator, and she posts links to op-ed columns and stories to start conversations on important topics. As in all cases, we ask that those involved in the conversation to keep it civil.
The latest addition to the many ways to have a discussion around topics in the news is actually a return to something we had offered on Dispatch.com until last year, which is online commenting.
As Engagement and Audience Development Editor Chandler Boese recently announced, we have contracted with a new vendor for an online tool that allows readers to comment again on stories posted to Dispatch.com.
“This system gives readers the opportunity to express their opinions on issues we’re reporting, and to engage with others who care about these issues, in a constructive way,” Boese wrote. “The Dispatch created this space to allow for thoughtful conversations around the topics of the day, listen to what you have to say, and potentially respond to your questions and comments.”
And because some who joined the conversation in the past had trouble keeping their contributions out of the gutter, we have set some guardrails in place. In other words, we have rules to make sure commenters keep it civil and on-topic. We want a robust – and respectful – conversation, not name-calling personal attacks or gutter talk.
Those who can’t follow the rules to maintain a safe space for constructive conversations will be warned and potentially banned from the conversation if they jump over the guardrails more than a few times.
See more details about commenting at https://bit.ly/39rtdmj.
You also can engage in conversation with The Dispatch on our various social media channels – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – and by contacting journalists directly via social media or email .
Thank you for your support for local journalism, and thank you for joining the conversation about topics important to central Ohioans.
Alan D. Miller is editor of The Dispatch. amiller@dispatch.com @dispatcheditor