Here are some highlights from the Comments of that very Times Free Press article:
Your readers will still have those ugly opinions. What'll happen now is that you won't get your eyeballs dirty looking at them. If you were in the fiction business, maybe that'd be a good idea.
God knows no one would ever subscribe to your online paper as most of it isn't news. Shootings on ump-teenth street isn't news. Sermon topics at local churches isn't news. A woman jumping off the Golden Gate bridge isn't news. But it's your playground and it's my ball...so i'm off to www.chattanoogan.com where only news is reported and feedback is welcomed.
Shutting it down over a few commentors? By that reasoning, wouldn't the gov't be shutting down some public housing complex's in Chattanooga due to a few bad apples causing many problems, instead of getting rid of those bad apples? Congratulations on political correctness winning out. Next up: Comedy! Cause that joke will have offended someone. Sorry "Laughman", you gotta go!
And for you folks that think that anonymity is so bad, just remember, They know just who you are in North Korea, Russia and other unsavory parts of the world.Anonymous opinions are the only honest ones.More than likely, some politician leaned on someone at the TFP and cut off their "access" and the paper caved.
the nation and the world got a chance to see just how much racism, bigotry and intolerance still exist in Chattanooga and pretty much all over the nation in 21St century America. That much won't change we can just go back to pretending. After all, out of sight out of mind
There are online communities with life, with vibrancy, with a good existence. This is not one of them.
Whenever I want to show someone how backward and racist my hometown is, I open up the TFP and let them read the comments.
this does not make sense and just boils down to the fact that you either do not want to pay someone to remove the comments or your paper just doesn't promote freedom of speech. I think everyone should refuse to comment to the TFP when asked about witnessing or telling their side of the story. Sorry to say that I think TFP is on its way out the door.
Have fun playing with your ball alone . . . take it home and enjoy it . . . the rest of us will find something else to use.
Believe it or not, those of us who have the intelligence to act upon good information also have the intelligence to recognize partisanship, racism and propaganda when we see it.
I think the reporters stories ARE biased. I am SO tired of reading about some poor ILLEGAL immigrant (who should be deported) or WHY the white community is blamed (always goes back to slavery)for the way the black youth of today are acting the way they do (parents/grandparents take NO responsibility and don't make them behave)...plus I want to know just WHAT has Tommie Brown or JoAnne Favors actually DONE for their community? And that includes the so-called "black leaders". Just what ARE they doing?
People want their voices to be heard, I wish the paper would reconsider. Journalists can be wrong, even with the best sources and intentions, Judith Miller of the NYT comes to mind on this. During the days of 2002 and 2003, we could have used more dissent within the traditional media.
as for the racist and classist remarks that get get bandied about on the comments sections...I think we as Chattanoogans need to be brave enough to confront the racism and classism that very much exists all throughout our city. We should denounce it and correct it at every turn, but we shouldn't put the lid back on it. Closing the forums would do just that.
If you do decide to tighten the noose of speech, please remove the word "Free" from the name of the company. Otherwise you are starting 2012 with a lie. Free Press. Remember your own moniker. "Free" Press.
I too have shared many of the bigoted comments with friends and family members around the nation and in other countries. Especially those who see America as a beacon of diversity and compassion, are shocked to realize there is still so much bigotry, racism and intolerance. Doubly so when America is trying to show itself as a tolerant nation in having a black man as its first black president.
If the editor of this rag considers its readers to be crass, "racist", profane, "enraged", and inaccurate in regards to facts, it could be because your newspaper's level of journalism attracts a comparable readership. Ms. Gerber, you would do best by trying to elevate the journalistic capability of your own staff before you wag your self-righteous finger at we the unwashed masses.
Many of the racially mean spirited things said on this board about people of a different race, religion and sexual preference brought tears to my friends and my eyes. They were all very sad to read. But then again, it did serve a purpose in that it brought to light a side of our nation we all thought was long gone, and not just well hidden under a rock somewhere awaiting an opportunity to rear its ugly head again.
Sadly many of the young people who move away from Chattanooga are too embarrassed to admit Chattanooga is their hometown.
Farwell to all, sad to see free speech end, but you know some say we are in the "End Times" anyway so perhaps it won't matter for very long. Hope everyone has a great 2012.