See Steve's reply, below, which didn't make it to this list. I agree
with the promotion point - this isn't the place to push unrelated
events, although it's always good to mention them if they are related
(e.g. as in the 5 million Commons files release). Andrew did make a
number of other points as well as this one, though.
Thanks,
Mike
Begin forwarded message:
> From: "Steve Virgin" <steve(a)mediafocusuk.com>
> Date: 29 December 2009 16:57:27 GMT
> To: <charles.r.matthews(a)ntlworld.com>
> Cc: Wikimedia UK Board mailing list <board(a)wikimedia.org.uk>
> Subject: Re: [WMUK Board] [Wikimediauk-l] Press release (Public
> Domain Day)
> Reply-To: Wikimedia UK Board mailing list <board(a)wikimedia.org.uk>
>
>
> Charles is quite right that we have been in touch
>
> He was aware that we needed to run this through the Board Meeting
> tonight as I pointed this out last week
>
> I think he was aware I might have some reservations (albeit minor)
> about the text so I doubt anyone thought it would be issued
> prematurely
>
> Any promotion of Britain Loves Wikipedia should be in a section at
> the bottom called 'Editor's Notes' that comes at the end of the
> press release - it should not come in the main body text as this
> will mean more than one single message is being conveyed and this
> will be confusing
>
> I'd certainly promote it in the Editor's Notes - but nowhere else.
> Or, simply write a new press release all about Britain Loves
> Wikipedia and issue that to secure the same
>
> I had a few minor and small doubts about the 70 year rule so on
> phrases in the text suggesting 'copyright free on anything' which I
> simply modified to sound less harsh. But our collective Board
> knowledge on the copyright matter would no doubt be of interest
>
> Hope this helps
>
> Best
> Steve
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Charles Matthews" <charles.r.matthews(a)ntlworld.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, December 29, 2009 4:36 PM
> To: "Michael Peel" <email(a)mikepeel.net>
> Cc: <wikimediauk-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>; "Steve Virgin"
> <steve(a)mediafocusuk.com>
> Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Press release (Public Domain Day)
>
>> Michael Peel wrote:
>>> In terms of the content of the press release, there still seem to
>>> be some outstanding questions. Andrew posted on the talk page 5
>>> days ago, pointing out a few things, which it would be good to
>>> discuss. The central point is: are we absolutely positive that
>>> the facts are completely accurate? Also, note that the press
>>> release as it stands is lacking a headline and a date.
>> I don't agree with the Talk page comment "release should promote
>> WMUK and its activities, e.g. Britain Loves Wikipedia, as much as
>> possible". My views on press releases are probably known to
>> readers of the list by now. I would go so far as to say that
>> "corporate identity" material is dead weight in getting media
>> attention. To put it another way, promotion through simply
>> contacting the media has to earn its keep.
>>
>> On the issue of handling, I have been in contact with a Board
>> member, and I imagine my views will be represented to the Board.
>> I'll pass on second-guessing the detailed drafting. 70 years is
>> correct for the UK, that much is clear, and _in the press release_
>> nothing else should be brought in.
>>
>> Charles
>>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Board mailing list
> Board(a)wikimedia.org.uk
> http://wikimedia.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/board_wikimedia.org.uk
Hi Steve,
Thanks for this; I've integrated some of these changes into the
release. I quite like Charles's rearrangement of the release from
this morning, so I haven't changed the arrangement much - except for
splitting up the first paragraph into two so that they become a bit
more punchy.
One point to note: content donations are different from "loves"
events - the former just involves the public online, whilst the
latter involves them offline in museums. The Bundesarchiv etc. were
content donations, not "loves" events.
I think we're just about ready to send this out - if everyone's happy
with it?
Mike
On 3 Jan 2010, at 12:14, Steve Virgin wrote:
>
>
> Assuming the formatting stays in place through email (big 'if')
> here is my attempt to contribute to improving the press release
>
>
>
>
> My version:
>
> The Portsmouth-based Mary Rose Trust, has donated fifty-seven high
> resolution images, previously unpublished, relating to the salvaged
> sixteenth century warship onto Wikipedia. This kind donation
> complements a substantial reworking of the Wikipedia article about
> the sixteenth-century warship the Mary Rose, carried out by
> Wikimedia volunteer Peter Isotalo from Sweden.
> Two photographs are of the final stages of the salvage operation on
> 11 October 1982; the first time the Mary Rose had been above water
> since it sank on 19 July 1545. The remainder show sixteenth-century
> artefacts, including weapons, tools and personal items, recovered
> from the Mary Rose during its salvage:
>
> "Making content available on Wikimedia increases the visibility
> of our cultural heritage," Mike Peel, Chair of Wikimedia UK, says.
> "These images are now available to be seen in perpetuity, by the
> millions of people around the world that regularly read and edit
> Wikipedia and its sister projects."
>
> The revised article on the Mary Rose will be prominently linked on
> the 'Did you know..' section, which is found on the home page of
> Wikipedia, on 4 January; this page routinely receives over four
> million visits each day. In addition, it is on course to become a
> "Featured Article", a best on Wikipedia example, and, thus, it will
> also be eligible to be the main featured article on Wikipedia's
> front page.
>
> Forthcoming event:
>
> Wikimedia UK is finishing off plans for Britain Loves Wikipedia
> that will run during the whole of February. It is a free
> photography contest to be held in participating museums across the
> UK, attracting volunteer involvement, bringing more people to the
> museums and getting them involved in describing and representing
> the cultural heritage content. As ever, images from the series of
> events will be used to illustrate Wikipedia articles.
>
> Previous events of this nature have been run all over the world in
> partnership with Wikimedia: the Bundesarchiv and Deutsche Fotothek
> in Germany; the Tropenmuseum in The Netherlands; Regionarkivet in
> Sweden and the Queensland Museum, Australia.
>
> Wikimedia UK proactively seeks to encourage more cultural
> organisations to make their images, audio recordings or videos
> freely available to the public through its Wikimedia Commons project.
>
>
> EDITORS' NOTES
>
> About the Mary Rose:
> The Mary Rose, once the pride of King Henry VIII's navy, was raised
> by the the Mary Rose Trust from the bottom of the Solent just off
> Portsmouth in 1982, 437 years after it accidentally foundered while
> engaging a French fleet. The project of salvaging the ship was a
> major undertaking and proved to be a milestone within the field of
> maritime archaeology. When the Mary Rose sunk, the ship and its
> contents were sealed off by layers of clay and sediment thereby
> becoming a time capsule of sixteenth-century Tudor England. The
> thousands of artefacts found when the ship was excavated and raised
> have provided important clues to the life of the men of all classes
> that served on her during the 1540s, about shipbuilding, naval
> warfare and countless other fields.
>
> About Wikimedia Commons:
> Wikimedia Commons is a free image and media file repository, and is
> a sister project to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It was
> started on 7 September 2004, and is operated by the Wikimedia
> Foundation. It currently contains over 5.5 million freely licensed
> images and media files.
>
> About Wikimedia UK:
> Wikimedia UK is an independent organisation that supports free and
> open knowledge throughout the United Kingdom, including promoting
> and supporting the projects of the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation.
>
> About the Wikimedia Foundation:
> The Wikimedia Foundation Inc. is the US-based non-profit
> organisation that operates some of the largest collaboratively-
> edited reference projects in the world. These include Wikipedia,
> one of the world's ten most-visited websites, and Wikimedia Commons.
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Michael Peel" <email(a)mikepeel.net>
> Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2010 11:24 PM
> To: <charles.r.matthews(a)ntlworld.com>; <wikimediauk-
> l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
> Cc: "Steve Virgin" <steve(a)mediafocusuk.com>
> Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] Telegraph runs story ...
>
>>
>> On 2 Jan 2010, at 20:27, Charles Matthews wrote:
>>
>>> In the end, a story appeared today:
>>>
>>> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/wikipedia/6916596/WB-Yeats-
>>> and-Sigmund-Freud-works-posted-on-Wikipedia-as-copyright-
>>> expires.html
>>>
>>>
>>> Well done indeed to Mike and Andrew in particular for pushing on
>>> past
>>> all the obstacles.
>>
>> Well done Charles and Brian for writing the article, and also
>> pushing past your share of obstacles. :-)
>>
>> I think I've found another addiction thanks to this - I spent most
>> of today and yesterday making a book of Yeats available on
>> Wikisource... If you haven't already tried proofreading a book on
>> Wikisource, then I would thoroughly recommend it.
>>
>> The next press release, due to go out tomorrow evening, will be
>> about a donation of images from the Mary Rose Trust:
>>
>> http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Press_releases/Mary_Rose_Trust_donation
>>
>> Please help! If this goes down well in the media, then it will be
>> a great precedent for getting more organizations to make their
>> content available by Wikimedia websites.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Mike
>
>