This morning I did the unthinkable: I blocked comments on all homepage stories relating to pastors Anthony and Harriet Jinwright.

I call this unthinkable because, as a career journalist, every instinct in me calls for free and fair discussion of the events that affect our community. The operative word in the previous sentence, of course, is “fair.”

For the past few days, a Qcitymetro reader has been using this website to post unsubstantiated allegations against a Charlotte preacher unrelated to the Jinwright trial. The operative phrase in the previous sentence, of course, is “unsubstantiated allegations.”

Our rules for commenting are no different than those for any other responsible news site: Among other things, we don’t allow readers to malign individuals with statements, suggestions, comments and innuendo they cannot prove. It’s just that simple.

Qcitymetro.com will not become a place to post the latest rumor picked up at the barbershop or beauty salon. I believe our readers deserve better.

To those who have played by the rules, I offer my sincere regret for this inconvenience.

While we’re on the topic of reader comments, let me address a few others:

Reader: “Wowwww!!!! A full photo layout? Are you serious Mr. Burkins? The Charlotte Observer isn't going as hard on this man as YOU are. Why? This is soooooooooo reminiscent of the slavery period; when the Master allowed the Field Slave do his DIRTY WORK for him...”

Answer: Please note that Qcitymetro.com is an independently owned news site that does not look to the Charlotte Observer to dictate its coverage.

As for the substance of our coverage, we have done an extremely thorough job covering this important story. I make no apology for that. It is probably because of our coverage of the Jinwright trial that you are on this site today – and we’re glad about that.

When I launched this site two years ago yesterday, my goal was to give the African American community a professional news site that aggressively covers the issues important to their community. On the Jinwright story, I believe we hit the mark.

Reader: “I wonder whose (sic) on the BOARD for Queen City Metro.....................this could be the reason for so many ANTHONY JINWRIGHT lynchings. The previous poster was right; why are they not allowing people to comment on (name deleted).”

Answer: You must not be one of our regulars. The name is Qcitymetro.com, not Queen City Metro. As for our board, we have no board members.

However, I was talking with someone just the other day about the need for a board of advisors. Perhaps you’d like to serve a term.

Reader: “You won't take the picture (of Bishop Jinwright in an orange prison jumpsuit) down at the request of your READERS; but you would remove comments................amazing!

Answer: Only comments that violate our policy are removed. As for Bishop Jinwright’s picture, I understand why it might be upsetting to some. It is not an easy picture to look at. However, it accurately reflects the unfortunate reality of the Bishop’s situation. I stand by our decision to publish it.

Reader: “Not only is this a BIASED media source; but your hatred/disgust for Jinwright is so blatant…Glenn Burkins you are in deed hypocritical. I was one of your first readers of this site; and have truly enjoyed it up until recently.”

Answer: I have never met Bishop Jinwright and certainly harbor no hatred or ill will for him, his family, Greater Salem or its members. In fact, I wish them all God’s blessings. As a journalist, however, I cannot allow my personal feelings to get in the way of fair, accurate and balanced reporting.

Although you would have no way of knowing this, we have deleted countless comments about Bishop Jinwright and members of his family that we deemed inappropriate. As an aside, we have a "Report Abuse" button to the left of every comment. If you see comments that you think violate our policy, please bring them to our attention by clicking the button.

We at Qcitymetro.com have attempted numerous times to speak with members and leaders at Greater Salem. We want them to tell their story. Unfortunately, they have all refused.

In the interest of two-way conversation, I will leave the commenting open on this column that I have written. If readers respect our commenting policy on this post, we will restore commenting to the other stories as well.

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