Should reporters put their e-mails online?

As online editions and the Internet make the news media more accessible to the news consumer, many news operations seem to have different policies regarding whether or not to post reporters' or editors' e-mail.

On the plus side, at places like the Chicago Tribune, readers can now contact reporters much more easily to offer things like input, story ideas and corrections. Before e-mail, readers would have to be motivated to send an actual letter or make a phone call - which rarely happened.

Personally, I have found reporters' e-mails useful to set up guest speakers at a national high school journalism convention. In my News Writing class, I've had my students follow a reporter for a few weeks and ask them questions about their work. Most journalists are people persons and love to talk about what they do -- especially with young people.

The other side of the coin is when a journalist might become a target of unwanted communication from a reader /viewer.

A few years ago, I remember Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg lamenting his newspapers' policy of posting staff e-mails. Since he often wrote columns that stirred readers' passions, Steinberg apparently did not like being subject of their ire.

ESPN.com, which features many of the sports giant's famous personalities, does not post as many e-mail addresses as it has in the past. (However, with a little legwork, you can break their e-mail code.) Even if you wanted to call someone, like I needed to do recently for an interview, only one sales phone number is given and only a corporate address.

Although I have not heard any actual incidents involving e-mail stalkers, I'm sure this probably happens, too. One of my former students, who now works for ESPN, is the subject of a couple of fan tribute sites. For this former beauty queen, if her e-mail address was public, I'm sure she would be barraged with admirers' e-mails.

Therefore, I do understand the tendency to set up walls to communication. Logistically alone, reader e-mail would clog one's inbox. However, I think outlets that set up barriers to communication lose out on positive interaction.

By setting up in-house and outside e-mail accounts, journalists can use reader/viewer input in whichever way they see fit. E-mail is easily deleted in the same way hate mail is thrown away; but the majority of e-mails help establish a connection with news consumers.

Look at the reader comments on blogs. Look at live online chats. Readers want to interact and feel part of the newspaper, website or news station.

Instead of fearing contact with them, it should be a welcome addition.