On 11 November 2011 17:11, Achal Prabhala aprabhala@gmail.com wrote:
Honestly, news reporters in India are confused about *everything* related to Wikipedia and Wikimedia :) Even a cursory analysis of news coverage will confirm that they routinely mix up what the movement is, what the difference between Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation is, what the difference between a chapter member and a staff member is, etc. And as someone who has been following this from the outset, I can say with some confidence that this has nothing to do with the chapter and the Foundation in India, rather, just our own complicated terminology and insider-language, and a general laziness on the part of Indian news media to learn the details. Basically, we'd still get completely whacky press coverage even if there was no chapter and no Foundation entity.
FWIW, this is definitely not confined to India :-)
From a brand perspective, the Wikimedia movement is extremely
confusing to reporters: we have Wikimedia, Wikipedia, the sister projects, MediaWiki, the Wikimedia Foundation, chapter organizations, school clubs, and projects and activities of all types. And, media are continually befuddled about how we work: they are used to professional spokespeople, so they don't understand why X person in the Wikimedia movement isn't speaking on behalf of the whole movement.
When I joined the Wikimedia Foundation in 2007, I thought this was a problem that needed to be fixed. Over time though, I've begun to realize that it's pretty fundamental to our movement's values. We want to have a movement in which it's easy to participate; in which there are few barriers to entry; there is minimal rule-making and rule-enforcement, where people can flexibly wear different hats and take on different roles, etc.
So yes: I think we are confusing to journalists, and they often get the story wrong. That's too bad. But on the whole, I think it's a small price to pay in exchange for a vibrant, creative, productive movement, and the cure for it (real clarity, lots of rules) would be worse than the disease.
Thanks, Sue
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Sue Gardner Executive Director Wikimedia Foundation
415 839 6885 office 415 816 9967 cell
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