I have just posted the text at the end of this message to Wikinews' watercooler (equivalent of village pump).
I'm really looking for input here - use the list to keep us up to date with what you're doing if you choose to get involved with this project! So, I'll start with this: who's interested in helping?
A quick brief:
Wikinews is like Wikipedia, but for news. It runs well, and embraces original reporting (OR) performed by contributors. This can take the form of interviews, attending events, or many others. In order to secure such opportunities, contributors need to show themselves to be a member of a tangible organisation - hence the accreditation system was set up [[n:WN:AP]]. The community votes on who to certify as a Wikinews reporter, and when they pass such a vote, users are sent press papers. These papers can then be used to show that a user does have a real reason to interview someone/attend an event as press.
In many cases, these press papers are needed to obtain press passes for individual events (such as G8, to which a Wikinews reporter was able to go). Currently, the origin of the press papers can seen to be in the USA, with that being the home of WMF (although WMF doesn't do the accreditations!).
The idea of this project is to encourage the local chapters to take a role in this accreditation process by providing local papers and helping to get places for people at specific events, as well as to build up a community and start to provide a decent use for the chapters themselves!
ComProj members who want to be involved will probably be helping to formulate a process involving chapters, which can be spread out to them all, and, if they wish, can get involved in having their chapters support the system (by becoming the "nominated body" (or something) for Wikinews in their chapter). Of course, like anything with ComProj - it's up to you how little or how much you do!
OK - that brief wasn't so "quick", but I hope it gave you a good idea of what we're getting at here. I'll start a list of those involved with myself on it :).
Interested members:
Martinp23 - Will help with all stages (and is trying to organise the sub-project :-)). Can liaise with wikimedia-uk, and be the contact there.
Please remember - you can do as much or little as you want. It'll help me if you can express your interest to me either on list or elsewhere, so I've got an idea of who wants to help :-).
I'll put something on meta either tonight or tomorrow, depending on how much of an insomniac I am tonight :P
Thanks,
Martin
<letter> == Accreditation via chapters ==
Tonight, during the weekly [[m:ComProj|ComProj]] meeting ([[m:Communication Projects Group/Meetings/2007-07-03|log]]), I brought up the suggestion that we (ComProj) could help to get chapters to assist in accreditation. The advantages of this are: # Stronger local community # A real purpose for the chapters # Many more journalism and press-pass related opportunities # Probably some others I don't know about
I'm post here to seek your ideas on what we (Wikinews) want from such a system. I'll relay messages left here to the ComProj mailing list, and vice versa - ComProj will be able to help to set up a system, and publicise it to the board and the various chapters and other related groups. Any thoughts? [[User:Martinp23|Martinp23]] 22:29, 3 July 2007 (UTC)
:Some thoughts brought up in the meeting were: :* Identity verification may need to take place, ideally coordinated by chapters :* This is a massive opportunity for all :* (Nominated bodies in) chapters can try to liaise with govt. organisations to get passes to government events, for national press passes :Much more - read the log :). I realise that I'm replying to my own message, but wanted to separate this from my short introduction. So, let's thrash out some ideas! [[User:Martinp23|Martinp23]] 22:29, 3 July 2007 (UTC)
</letter>