[Air-L] post-editing of news stories in online environments

[Philippa Smith]

Hi Everyone,

I'm interested in finding any published research about  how online news organisations respond to readers comments to the extent that they will change words in a published story or a headline. This may follow criticism that certain words used in a story are inaccurate, racist or simply have the potential to be interpreted differently to what the journalist intended. Online platforms enable news organisations to alter a story immediately, but does the pressure to respond with speed also mean that alterations might occur to simply pacify one reader when others might not view the same words in the same way? Is there a safety net at work here for news organizations - just how common is it to change material? and what does this mean for journalistic practice in the digital age when reader criticism can be so immediate and  visible? Any links to academic research in the area of the post-editing of  news stories already published online would be appreciated.

Kind regards

Philippa Smith

Institute of Culture, Discourse and Communication
Auckland University of Technology
Auckland
NEW ZEALAND