Inside or out? Perceptions of how Differing Types of Comment Moderation Impact Practice

This study examines how the moderation of reader comments influences journalism practice. Through in-depth interviews with journalists working at both organizations that perform in-house comment moderation and organizations that employ outside organizations such as Facebook to do moderation, the study aims to illuminate how comments can influence newswork on multiple levels of analysis, all the while decreasing journalistic autonomy. The paper concludes by theorizing how to protect autonomy while still prioritizing community participation.