David Gerard wrote:
Wikinews is still recoverable. But what it's been doing so far clearly failed. What can they do that would work? Open it up further?
Sage Ross once discussed with me the idea of having Wikinews be foremost a source of news about the Internet. It could report on news and goings-on on various Web sites. The idea made the idea of Wikinews almost seem redeemable to me, though I'm not sure how much it falls within Wikimedia's scope. Perhaps he'll chime in here to elaborate, as I'm surely not doing the concept justice.
If Wikinews had started as a site with news about the Internet and particularly online communities, I think it would've grown into a proper project over time. Instead, it primarily regurgitates news stories from elsewhere and outputs them under a free license, which there doesn't seem to be much of a market for. Some of the Wikinews interviews have been impressive, but beyond those, there isn't much to speak of after seven years online.
MZMcBride