• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, August 15, 2014

In the recent past, editors might pick select point of views from readers and place them in their letters to the editor section. Now with digital media, we know it’s open season: the wild West. Shoot and ask questions later.

Everyone can now take a whack at the media, in the comments section. Entertaining? Sometimes. Instructive? Hmm...

Forget about the whole “shouting fire in a crowded theater” thing. The worst of it equates to not going out to see a movie in the first place: Just shout and stir up trouble. Get your name, your voice, in big lights.

When it comes to TV programming, executives look to social media to see viewers’ immediate engagement with content, and criticism of direction, plot lines and characters. This helps give executives some hint about what their audiences want to see next.  And then there is the abusive, misogynistic, and generally hateful stuff. But if 70% of that social media makes good points, do we need to pay for that value by enduring the other 30% as a form of vig?

Many media sites are thinking about eliminating their comment sections altogether; some have done so. But where does it go from here? Popular social media areas like Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, aren’t going away.

But perhaps it won’t be as loud. Like any boring bit of media, we may just tune in less to their channel/programming, which will result in a ratings decline. There are many other media disruptions to consider.

As with TV, cancellation can come with avoidance --  and non-engagement.