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The Agony and Ecstasy of Online Comments

Wednesday , we're talking about the comment sections at the end of online articles or posts. Comments can be insightful or hateful and there are those like the writer Jack Hitt who see them as a democratizer for a new era of journalism. Others feel more like Bob Garfield of NPR's "On the Media." Philosophically he is a huge believer, but as a practical matter, he says "I hate them more than mere words can describe." (Rebroadcast)

Note to Listeners:

KUER News will interrupt RadioWest to air President Obama’s news conference at 11:20 Mountain. It is his first news conference in 8 months and of course the first since his re-election. To hear RadioWest in its entirety, you can stream it here after 11:00 a.m. or tune in this evening at 7:00 p.m. on KUER 90.1.

Guests:

Bob Garfield is co-host of NPR's On the Media and a columnist for both MediaPost and The Guardian.

Bill Reader is an Associate Professor in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University who has written extensively on various forms of audience feedback.

Jack Hitt is the author of the book Bunch of Amateurs and a contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine. He also is an occasional contributor to the public radio program This American Life.

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Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.