[Foundation-l] Proposal for the creation of a Wikinews foundation

[Craig Spurrier]

Erik Moeller wrote:
> I support the idea of a separate organization. I also echo Delphine's
> comments: It would be good if the organization had, at least in its
> statutes, a broader purview than simply the issuing of credentials,
> e.g. I could imagine it would be useful to have an organization for:
> - helping to organize local Wikinews meetings & editing marathons
> - getting journalism faculties involved in writing Wikinews articles
> - administering prizes for contests
> - maintaining a budget for investigative reporting activities
> etc.
>   
These are all worthwhile projects. They could very well be coordinated 
by a Wikinews foundation, though for the most part they could also be 
done by a chapter or the WMF. A balance between keeping our assets small 
to minimize our legal risk and providing these sorts of service will 
need to be obtained, but I am confident that a balance can be found.
> For the organization's name, I would strongly support any name that
> puts the emphasis on people rather on the project, e.g. something that
> begins with "Wikinews Reporters" or "Wiki Journalists". It may make
> sense to talk to Dan Gillmor's "Center for Citizen Media" to see if
> they're interested in a collaboration:
>
> http://citmedia.org/
>
> I think the Wikinews interest group is different from most others in
> that it does have a justifiable need for an organizational structure.
> For many other IGs, it may just be sufficient to have an Ubuntu-like
> volunteer team that has authorization to use our name for a
> well-defined set of activities.
>   
The problem with any sort of user group or people over project focus is 
that for the most part those needs are met by the WMF. The problem is 
that we have no good way of presenting our reporters as from being from 
a serious news organization.
> Of course there's a risk that the organization might be confused with
> WMF. The current wikinewsie.org has a fairly clear disclaimer, and if
> such disclaimers are used consistently on websites, e-mails, possibly
> even business cards, I think that the risk would be reduced to
> acceptable levels. I'm more worried about overlap in those countries
> where there are active chapters; here the organization should have a
> clear agreement with the chapter about their respective
> responsibilities.
>   
By keeping a fairly narrow focus we can avoid confusion and stepping on 
peoples toes. A disclaimer of unrelatedness to the foundation and the 
chapters is to be expected. The goal is however the implementation of 
the need to claim unrelatedness with anything official.
> The WMF as an organization isn't really the point of anything we do:
> it's the mission that matters. And if it makes sense to have a
> separate organization to better serve that mission, I fully support
> it.
The WMF serves the mission fairly well it is just a few small points for 
that it can not help us. A Wikinews foundation combined with the 
continued support of the WMF would provide us with exactly what we need.

-Craig Spurrier
[[n:Craig Spurrier]]