I accidentally bumped into a woman at my local Smith’s. I had my head down as I looked at my shopping list and it was my fault.
And she apologized to me.
In Utah, I’ve found that good manners abound.
And yet there is always an exception. The rude driver. The neighbor in the apartment complex who has no respect for quiet hours.
At The Tribune, we spend a disproportionate amount of time removing disrespectful comments at the bottom of our stories. A select few commenters create an uncomfortable experience for others, including our staff, which is verbally abused on a regular basis.
We believe in creating community. And we’ve taken several steps over the first half of this year to practice better listening.
We are regularly asking you to inform our reporting. You’ve shared your favorite restaurants and your housing challenges, so that we may both spread the word about the best birria tacos and help find paths forward for those who are looking to find a forever home.
We’ll soon hire our first engagement reporter, who will help us more deeply understand and report on what’s important to you.
And soon we are transitioning to a new commenting platform. We’re also setting new guidelines for users of our comments section.
We may pause comments on sensitive stories. And they may not be available on some others, due to the nature of the story and what we’ve learned over years of content moderation.
However, there are more opportunities - from letters to the editor to Instagram threads to surveys to Facebook - than ever for you to engage.
Finally, our reporters and editors will look to connect with you via our new commenting platform.
As we move forward, we’d like your help. Tell us what you think about the new platform. And how you think we should moderate comments in a constructive capacity. You can share your thoughts in this survey below. You can also click here.
We know this is a process and we’re committed to creating the most constructive environment we can.
Thanks, as always, for your support.
