As of Tuesday, staff bylines on NYTimes.com will become links that when clicked go to a page featuring other articles written by the writer, and
there will be a feature for readers to send e-mail to the writer. If
you visit the site today, you’ll only see the byline-link search for
other articles by the writer; there’s no way at all to contact the
writer.
The e-mail feature only applies to staff writers, and it will be a form
to send a writer a message without disclosing the address of the
writer. New York Times
reporters will get a once-a-day e-mail notification that reader
messages have arrived, rather than seeing messages individually as
readers send them. The system was devised in order to prevent writers
from receiving lots of junk mail, according to a note to the staff from
Times editor Bill Keller.
Creating such a system to allow readers to communicate with Times reporters was a recommendation of the paper’s Credibility Committee, which issued an internal report last April.
In his note, Keller urges staff members to use the new system. He writes: “Readers appreciate thoughtful answers to
legitimate questions and criticisms. That doesn’t mean that every personal attack must be parried, every anti-Times
campaign repulsed, every line-by-line analysis rebutted in kind. It
simply means that readers should be heard and, whenever possible,
engaged. In many cases, no reply will be called for beyond the
auto-reply acknowledging that a reader’s message has reached you. In
other cases, a polite acknowledgement will be plenty.”
Many, many newspaper websites were earlier in opening up reporters to e-mail contact from readers. So when the Times finally jumps on that bandwagon, I have to say bravo! And, it’s about time.
