[Foundation-l] WMF and the press

[Ray Saintonge]

Anthony wrote:
> On Sat, Apr 26, 2008 at 11:28 AM, Florence Devouard <Anthere9 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>   
>>  b) public view. Every time we sneeze, there is a journalist to report
>>  it, claiming we caught the flu and are dying. There are leaks to the
>>  press in private lists. It is disastrous because it created an
>>  atmosphere of distrust, and many issues are no more discussed by fear of
>>  being repeated
>>     
> Maybe I'm naive, but I really don't understand this fear of the press.
>  It's especially ironic considering that the Wikimedia Foundation is
> dedicated to providing free access to knowledge, and the press is
> heavily used in obtaining and sourcing that knowledge.  Is the claim
> that the press often gets it wrong, and that the general public is
> stupid enough to believe whatever the press tells them, and won't
> change its mind when presented with the truth?  I might buy that (the
> first part is pretty much incontrovertibly true), though I'd find it
> at odds with the whole concept of Wikimedia projects (that
> Wikimedians, on average, can find reliable sources, sort the wheat
> from the chaff, and get to the truth).
>
> If you sneeze, and a journalist reports you caught the flu and are
> dying, what's the big problem?  Doesn't going to great lengths to make
> sure no one ever sees you sneeze again only serve to compound the
> problem?  You seem to suggest the problem is the atmosphere of
> distrust, but I don't see how that problem was caused by the press.
>
> The WMF has an odd relationship with the press.  And this isn't a new
> thing.  I didn't notice it until recently, but when I look back I see
> this fear of (or aversion to) the press has been there for years.  And
> it's not just you, Florence, though yours was the first one I noticed.
>  I see David Gerard has also made some particularly negative comments
> about the press.  And that's without really looking to see if it's
> something systemic within the organization.
I'm inclined to agree with this analysis.  Concern with the press is 
about concern with image instead of identity.  It puts looking good in a 
higher place than being good.  We've been looking over our shoulder ever 
since the Seigenthaler incident.  Ironically, going out of our way to 
avoid such things only draws attention to their possibility, and may 
even be counterproductive.  An organization the size of WMF cannot 
completely avoid these fumbles.  Most of the time it's only one person 
who has screwed up in a unique way (like EssJay), and yet we get all up 
in knots establishing policies that will keep these one-off incidents 
from ever happening again. 

When we look to the press as the source for an atmosphere of distrust, 
we completely miss the point.  Leaks to the press are not initiated by 
the press.  That kind of problem isn't so easily dismissed.  Trying to 
solve these problems by being even more secretive, and being afraid to 
engage in discussions will just make things worse.  When the public 
hears a lot of half-truth rumours they are only too willing to read them 
negatively.

Ec