Top Bloggers Hold Online Chat on the 'Howell' Controversy at 'Wash Post'

As a follow-up to the firestorm over a recent column by Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell, the newspaper's Web site this afternoon hosted a panel of "star" bloggers discussing "Ethics & Interactivity ."

The dispute over the Howell column caused washingtonpost.com editor Jim Brady to close one of the paper's blogs to comments after, in his view, many of them turned excessively harsh and profane. More debate followed on whether this was the right move.

Today he hosted bloggers Jeff Jarvis (BuzzMachine), Jane Hamsher (FireDogLake), Jay Rosen (PressThink), and Glenn Reynolds (InstaPundit).

A few highlights, as they responded to reader questions.

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Jay Rosen: I think it would have been wise if Deborah Howell, in her latest piece, "The Firestorm Over My Column," had elected to share with readers not only the rude, crude and disgusting things sent her way, but some of brilliant and inspired ones that made her think, caused her to question herself, or introduced problems she had never considered before. She said she had suffered "a public stoning," but she was also treated to a live seminar on the politics of balance in the news columns, and the complaints of a newly-assertive online left. Did she learn anything from it beyond: I have to watch what I say?

Jane Hamsher: The post.com should be thrilled by the passion and intelligence and civility exhibited by the vast, vast majority of commenters.

Jim Brady: I don't think being a mainstream media site and having blogs with comments are mutually exclusive. We've been doing it for a year, actually. Of course people from both sides will use those boards to make political points , and that's fine. Others will use the forum to criticize the paper and its reporting. We knew that going in to. So, no, I think these somewhat different cultures can -- and need to -- merge.

Jeff Jarvis: The age of controlled conversation is over. The age of open conversation is here. But that is damned hard for the controllers to get used to. And I don't say that with the perjorative edge it seems to indicate. The journalists thought it was their job -- emphasis on job, responsibility, value -- to control