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One of the biggest changes will be to require verifiable full names for users who wish to comment on stories. Customers wishing to register will find a link at the top left of the Tribune website. The link will lead them to make a username, submit their first and last name, as well as a phone number and e-mail. They will then be contacted by a Tribune staff member and given approval for commenting.
< http://www.albertleatribune.com/news...tonight >

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They will then be contacted by a Tribune staff member and given approval for commenting.

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People who wish to voice their opinion but must hide their identity because of employment or fear of retribution to their business or homes.

(MADDOG @ Jul. 28 2010,7:02 am)

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Once again the few selected or chosen ones have prevailed with the local paper.  Once again people will be silenced.

Once again this forum will thrive more because of a denial of peoples rights.

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Please remember that we are not responsible for any messages posted. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message. The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of this BB. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact us immediately by email. We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary.
You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this BB to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law. You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or by this BB.

(Kid Rock @ Jul. 28 2010,10:00 am)

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I know in the past that there has been court records and public records that have been posted on this site

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that got the Trib fearing a drop in revenue.

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Dan Dorman July 28, 2010 at 5:00 pm
I support the decision and agree with the editorial.

I believe the change will improve the discussion.

Jim, I disagree that anonymous posting, or for that matter, signed posting, is a good way to “get a true feeling of what the public thinks”. There are too few people who post to really gauge public opinion. Plus there are other sites that offer anonymous posts.

Like you I have heard the fear of reprisal line. I don’t buy it however, anonymous posting allows people to make personal attacks without being accountable.

I think more and more newspapers are going to make similar changes. Those that don’t will find it harder to find people who are willing to respond to reporters questions because of the comment section.

I think dissension is valued today as it was in the early days of the Republic. My history must be a little fuzzy however, I don’t recall the signers of the Declaration of Independence using screen names. SMILE>>>>

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George Gillespie July 28, 2010 at 6:09 pm
When you know who is complaining you can deal with it. Since I have never hid behind a user name and made my identity known, I have many people grace my doors steps from Ron Gabrielson, calling me ever name under the sun which I caught on tape. Your man discussing his dissatisfaction with my views which is also on tape. County commissioners and city counselors have graced my doors to discuss my views. True feelings. No one will be posting anything close if they do they are inviting retribution and conflict cause those in places of authority believe they are above everyone else and can muscle their agendas.

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“3. Making the albertleatribune.com site one of the most successful websites in southern Minnesota: We are seeing over 10,000 unique visitors daily, and a 41 percent increase in web traffic over the last two years”.

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“As we develop anything new, it is you the customer that is first in mind and so letting us know both the good and the bad of what you are experiencing is what we need”

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“3. Making the albertleatribune.com site one of the most successful websites in southern Minnesota: We are seeing over 10,000 unique visitors daily, and a 41 percent increase in web traffic over the last two years”.

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Marc Johnson July 29, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Hi my name is Marc Johnson, I have never written on any of these sites before and this is the only reply I’m going to make. But a jailer called me a liar and I felt Jailer Darrel Turvold had better check his facts again before you call someone a liar.

After hearing about what you had written, I went and spoke to Ron Hunter at the radio station. He told me you called and you asked him what we (the candidates) had said on the radio. He told me his reply to you was: “he could not remember what any of the candidates had said about the ICE contract, “but to come down and listen to the recording yourself.”

I did listen to the recording with him and had heard nothing from my words saying I was against the ICE contract, the same information conversation I had with others and you the other day at a Union Meeting is the same as I wrote in the paper. This ICE contract is brought up for political purposes and either you are naive or working on the Sheriff’s campaign. As a recent hire, I hope your not being forced to spread false rumors against someone that isn’t loyal to one person.

On the radio, I did say I had concerns about the food the jail is serving and had discussed this with the jailers after my comments on the radio. I also brought up concerns about the information I had heard on the national news concerning the ICE detention centers going to a non-jail setting. I did not go into detail, as I was a bit nervous at that time. I will tell you now that having our jail turned into a non-secure housing for illegal immigrants where they will not be searched or changed into different clothing and be allowed to have physical contact and guests in the jail, who will also not be searched, is a concern I have for the jail staffs safety, which would be your safety.

I am NOT against the ICE contract at this time. I would like to have others listen to the recording and help to the stop these lies.

Marc Johnson
Candidate for Sheriff

(MADDOG @ Jul. 28 2010,2:31 pm)

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Quite all right.  I can call you a pea brain here.  

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Scott Schmeltzer

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Chad-I challenege you to prove where I have ever said anything in my column about you or your forum.

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I am also disapointed that you would not continue to post our front page news to your readers as you have always stated that you only want a living area where your parents can live without high taxes and your children could have jobs if they wanted to. I thought that was noble, but now you seemed to have strayed.

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I have always been more than nice to you when you have come to my office and also when we have conversed on the phone.

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When I go into their archives, it doesn't show any posts on any story.

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To all on this thread, thank you.
Our challenge now is to have more people take the chance that you all have and use their names to spark debate. I really believe that it will be better and with time we will see.
I will challenge local political business leaders to come on here and voice there opinions on all topics covered by the Albert Lea Tribune. I really hope many do as this tool, as the internet itself is a device that can be both good and bad. I hope it becomes a tool of communication that will help all in both shining the good light of progress about our community as well as help uncover half truths and innuendo. Can you imagine if we can save the time that rumors take from us and put that same time into something progressive and good. We will then have a forum that all can be proud of.

Thanks again

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I really hope many do as this tool...

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As far as my role on the board, please ask anyone who is on the board that I more than speak my opinions on what is taking place as all the board memebers do.

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Why would you just call people that? Oh, I know, That is what you do to people that disagree with you! I forgot.

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Are we now twelve years old. Sad. As for the Chamber, you may want to broaden your circle of friends to more than Maddog as the Tribune is not a mouthpiece for the chamber.

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P.S.-Maddog-calling me a pissant. again really? Please broaden your word knowledge. I suggest Reader's Digest "word power".

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Chad,

Calling me a tool, really? Are we now twelve years old. Sad.

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Thanks for proving once again, why I don't comment here much.
If you ever want to have an adult conversation, feel free to stop down to the Tribune.

(Liberal @ Aug. 01 2010,9:52 am)

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I might put your headlines on in the future because we both know it benefits us, but I have to write some code to do it, and it's really hard to get motivated after you apparently once again mass deleted people's comments. Do you just not understand that some of those comments were the result of a lot of work, and that when we look back those comments will be as relevant as the story was? The story tells us what happened, the comments tell us how people felt about what happened.

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.I still just don't know why you cant use your name to support what you're saying??? Ahh well!

(Liberal @ Aug. 01 2010,9:52 am)

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Do you just not understand that some of those comments were the result of a lot of work, and that when we look back those comments will be as relevant as the story was? The story tells us what happened, the comments tell us how people felt about what happened.

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What is really cool is when you can see how people have grown over time.

The comments should be a part of our history.

Stupid things are going on at the Trib/Boone Publishing.

(gijoeman @ Aug. 02 2010,7:50 am)

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Looks like Sheriff Heretic's gonna be replaced.  

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Editorial: Wanted names? Now join the talk [UPDATED]
Published 8:41am Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Email
Print  
Comments





We invite local movers and shakers — from business leaders to city and county officials — to register at our new website and make comments.

Many of you told us you disliked the way users could make comments anonymously on the previous web platform for AlbertLeaTribune.com. We weighed your feedback against the input from people who liked it the way it was, many of whom were the day-to-day working people whose jobs prevent them from speaking their minds publicly.

We also weighed our hopes for good dialogue and the necessities of a new media.

When the time came to rethink our website, we took the new direction. We opted for comment makers to be registered users with verifiable names. No one is anonymous.

However, for this to be successful, there will need to be clear results. There will need to be vibrant dialogue, like the old platform had, and that means the people who clamored for names next to comments need to follow through on their request and participate in the discussions.

Surely, many of the anonymous users will be OK using their real names now. But some of them won't be, which will make for less talk. The loss of their participation hopefully will be offset by the people who sought real names.

We believe dialogue is good for the health of the community.

So please sign on. We are doing this for you.

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Special election for vacant commissioner seat [UPDATED]

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Debate on English language measure rages in Lino Lakes

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2 teenage boys accused of felony theft, burglary

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Democrats spar during TV debate

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Government Access Channel to rebroadcast sheriff’s forum

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Man charged with Glenville burglary

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MOST EMAILED

Sparking friendships - 7 emails

Vernon “Bill” Olson, 94, Albert Lea - 6 emails

Robert Navarro, 64 - 6 emails

Karissa Joy Hendrickson, Freeborn - 6 emails

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Randy Kehr August 5, 2010 at 3:18 pm
I, personally, applaud the Albert Lea Tribune for this change. While I certainly prefer the old-fashioned, face to face dialogue of a phone call or personal visit, I am encouraged by the fact that this discussion is taking place in a civil manner. I am always willing to discuss issues but not with those who choose to use personal attacks or inaccurate “facts” in the process of making their point. I believe this change is the first step in restoring “civility to the town square”.

< http://www.albertleatribune.com/2010...he-talk >

(alcitizens @ Aug. 05 2010,10:02 pm)

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Posted by tengstrom (Tim Engstrom) on October 1, 2008 at 2:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Thanks for the suggestion. I appreciate it. Here's the deal: If this becomes more than we have time to handle, we will shut it down. There is actual work to be done, and we are super busy. It takes time away from that work to deal with troublemakers. If this continues, comments will be shut off.

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What's widely-known is that Americans are not buying newspapers anymore in droves.

What hasn't been widely-known, until now, is that a year ago the new Democrat administration of Barack Obama launched a major internal study intended to design a major government rescue plan for the nation's financially-troubled information media, primarily newspapers.

That strident sound you hear are the alarms going off in minds and offices across the country: Government helping the press? Which press? How help? In return for what?

Well, two years ago who'd have thought the feds would own General Motors with major holdings in a bunch of banks and financial institutions, reshaped the healthcare industry, spent $787 billion on who-knows-what to create some jobs, have rewritten a package of new financial regulations to corral Wall Street and still not be securing the U.S.-Mexico border?

The Federal Trade Commission has just released a major staff study of modern American media titled "Potential Policy Recommendations to Support the Reinvention of Journalism." And...


...silly you thought the private business of journalism was doing that by itself in its own stumbling ways without the help of the Washington branch of the Chicago Democratic political machine.

The study notes those industry-wide revival efforts and adds:

There are reasons for concern that experimentation may not produce a robust and sustainable business model for commercial journalism. History in the United States shows that readers of the news have never paid anywhere close to the full cost of providing the news. Rather, journalism always has been subsidized to a large extent by, for example, the federal government, political parties, or advertising.
True, there have been government subsidies over the decades in the form of below-cost postal rates and printing contracts. But this FTC study is rated R for anyone who thinks the federal government, the object of copious news coverage itself, has no business deciding which sectors of the private media business survive and thrive through its support, subsidies and encouragement with things like tax incentives.

Yet that's what this Obama administration paper is suggesting as another of the ex-community organizer's galactic reform plans.

Would you believe: major changes to the copyright law, including government licensing provisions; government pilot programs to investigate potential new media business models, antitrust changes to allow media companies to unite on imposing online pay walls, establish a journalism division of AmeriCorps with government underwriting the training of young journalists, tax incentives per news employee, increased funding of public broadcasting, a 5% tax on consumer electronics and/or assessments on users of public airwaves.

Another idea would be to allow taxpayers to direct a portion of their taxes -- perhaps up to $200 -- to a specific media institution as payment for media services rendered. (Now, if taxpayers could direct such sums to individual bloggers... )

Our thanks to Mark Tapscott of the Washington Examiner for his trenchant observations titled "Will journalists wake up in time to save journalism from Obama's FTC?"

Over at BuzzMachine, Jeff Jarvis aims his usual provocative analysis at the FTC paper, a main point being that Obama's folks are, quite likely too late, plotting to "help" the oldest, most-troubled part of the news media business: newspapers. With but one lone mention of something newer called blogs.

An equivalent task might be the feds helping U.S. car companies revive the densely-chromed, high-finned gas guzzlers of the 1950-60's. How many of you folks, for instance, bought and read an actual newspaper this morning?

That's what we thought.
-- Andrew Malcolm

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See how it works? First, the government took certain steps that helped newspapers and later helped broadcasting. But then it formed public broadcasting networks, and now there’s the suggestion it take control of the news media by making it a public entity. As with health care, ultimately the government seeks total control. The same sort of incremental encroachment has substantially taken control of the nation’s public schools.

The authors are correct that journalism is experiencing change, but change does not translate to collapse. This is not journalism’s first such crisis; it is the third one since the printing press shoved the town crier into the unemployment line. In the 1930s newspapers were challenged by the advent of network radio news. And in the 50s both newspapers and radio were challenged by network television news, and that change is still evolving. What journalism also faces today is yet another new element, the Internet. Technology has again produced change; but change is nothing new for the news media, and it isn’t fatal, so we don’t need the government to rush in to save the day.

The authors’ concept fits comfortably into the philosophy espoused by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel: “Never let a serious crisis go to waste.” And if there isn’t a convenient crisis afoot, make one up. Hence the title of the report’s opening section: “Crisis and Opportunity.”

This paper was produced by Free Press, a left-wing organization reportedly close to the Obama administration describing itself as “a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to reform the media.” Free Press is listed first among coalition partners of StopBigMedia.com, a major initiative of which is Net Neutrality, a movement to impose a Fairness Doctrine (read “government control”) on the Internet. Other left-wing partners include: Service Employees International Union (SEIU); AFL-CIO, Department for Professional Employees; Rainbow/PUSH Coalition; National Organization for Women; Feminist Majority; Common Cause; Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting; ACLU of Iowa; Coalition Against Hate Media; and Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda.

Free Press wants to create the idea that private media has failed, and use it as an excuse for the government to “save” yet another industry for the good of all mankind. However, lower revenues and job cuts are normal business problems, sometimes as a result of bad business decisions, sometimes as a result of economic recession. If we can keep the predatory, gluttonous feds at bay long enough, private sector media will adapt to changing circumstances, as it has done throughout history, and strong companies will emerge, survive and thrive.

One wonders if liberals believe there is any element of our lives that would not be better under government control. But imagine what a nightmare it will be if things devolve to the point where government chooses who can report news in a newspaper, or on radio, television, or the Internet.

Defeating this power grab depends upon the free flow of reliable information, which is a significant challenge, given the degree to which the mainstream media has abandoned its duty to produce balanced and accurate reporting to keep the citizenry well informed.

Barack Obama believes there is too much information available to people and that they can’t tell the good from the bad. That’s insulting. The answer is more information, not less, and less information is what we’ll have with government management of the news.

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Net Neutrality, it's a way to control voices.
The net neutrality principle supported by the Obama administration is an attempt by the government to control Internet content.

Net neutrality is the Fairness Doctrine of the Internet." Let's say you want to search abortion, or you want to search the health care bill with net neutrality they want to control what you see. They want to control what your options are. They can't really control the content; it's too massive and it's too big. What they want to try to do is limit your access to it, and have that access flavored toward whatever particular point of view the government wants supported.

Net Neutrality "is a foray into content regulation which could effectively squash dissenting viewpoints.

"Mr. Obama's appointees to this [Federal Communications Commission] have made no secret of their desire to exercise more control over the whole landscape of video, telephone and wireless services. One of the most worrisome elements of their agenda is their current rule-making process, better known as 'Net Neutrality,' which seeks to regulate the flow of Internet content for the first time ever."

Net Neutrality means "the censors of the left will even have the power to control the Internet

(hairhertz @ Aug. 07 2010,1:34 pm)

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So, Obama really is the boogieman?

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For media consumers, it’s the freedom to consume whatever information or entertainment we want from whatever sources we choose, without government restricting our choices. For media creators and distributors, it’s the freedom to structure their business affairs as they wish in seeking to offer the public an expanding array of media options, for both news and entertainment. And for both consumers and creators, media freedom is being able to speak one’s mind without restraint, and without the threat of FCC or FEC bureaucrats telling us what is “fair.”

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Randy Kehr August 8, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Jeshua,
Our mayor essentially is a councilor at large who presides over the meetings, as well. He or she, as meeting chair, votes last. The person serving as Mayor also represents the City in a ceremonial capacity.
Randy

< http://www.albertleatribune.com/2010...omments >

(hairhertz @ Aug. 08 2010,9:10 pm)

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The voice of city government, Randy K., Chamberpot presz.

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I don't think enough noise has been made. Srew the A.L birdcage liner, it's more about how a select few can continue to pull the strings and feel the need to control. Too few people have way too much power in this community. If someone offers a different idea or perspective or opinion, no matter how constructive, you are labeled negative.

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ALCITIZENS:
Their new requirements will likely eliminate any real meaningful dialogue. Boring!

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city voting to stand up to Alliant Energy

(Liberal @ Aug. 10 2010,10:25 pm)

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I don't think I flip-flopped, I posted the next day that I would eventually put it on there. The biggest reason I did it was that the front page of this site is archived every day so that a person can pull up the front page from any date in the past and read just about everything in the local news, and what people on the forum were talking about. I figured the archive was getting messed up because of the missing links.

like this... < http://www.albertlea.com/archive/12_10_09_09.html >

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I'm a big believer in book learnin', I'm just not a big believer in people telling me which book I need to read.

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For some of you old timers, remember it was Dave Churchill that helped eradicated Belden from our midst.

(GEOKARJO @ Aug. 27 2010,12:42 pm)

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I just made a comment in the Austin Herald web site I was not required to post under my real name to make a comment. It posted under my user name. Therefore it is not a Boone Publishing Policy but a Chamber influenced local decision. Ban the Albert Lea Tribune comments. Make no comments and watch the Tribune hits dwindle. In order to be heard we must take a vow of silence.

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The Editorial Board of the Albert Lea Tribune comprises Scott Schmeltzer, Tim Engstrom, Sarah Stultz and Adam Harringa.

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The Albert Lea Tribune website in September recorded over 1 million pageviews for the seventh-consecutive month.

The Tribune’s site breached 1.21 million pageviews, the second-highest tally ever, trailing only June’s 1.71 million pages viewed. The site also had over 50,000 unique visitors and an average of 6,026 unique visitors per day in September.

AlbertLeaTribune.com continues to provide breaking news coverage as it happens and updates as soon as they become available. The Tribune’s new site, which launched on July 30, also features news, sports and opinion blogs; video, sports video and multimedia pages; more photo galleries; and an archive of national, state and local election coverage. The Tribune also offers daily news e-mails; breaking news, weather and sports text alerts; a Facebook fanpage; and news and sports Twitter feeds.

(stardust17 @ Nov. 26 2010,3:52 am)

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Previous comments...all the talk of free speech. What does it say of a town when "annonynomous" free speech is needed to prevent "retribution" from employers, co-workers, school mates, congregation members, etc?
Is that freedom?

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1. public pressure
2. local politics
3. website incompetence
4. viewer abandonment
5. other
6. all of the above