On Tue, Apr 16, 2019 at 4:23 PM Jennifer Pryor-Summers <
jennifer.pryorsummers(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Andrew
It seems to me that you're saying that, on the one hand, the policies that
make Wikipedia work well as an encyclopaedia (NOR, RS, V, NORUSH) are a
poor fit for a news-gathering operation and on the other hand, Wikipedia is
a success as a news-gathering operation. These seem inconsistent to me.
As Wikimedians we are secondary source news summarizers rather than primary
source news gatherers. That’s where the difference lies primarily.
I have been a fan of the times Wikinews did original interviews with
notable folks [1] so this is perhaps a sustainable niche. But as a direct
news wire competitor to AP, Reuters or AFP, no.
[1]
https://en.m.wikinews.org/wiki/Shimon_Peres_discusses_the_future_of_Israel
However, I conclude from what you're saying that
the best way forward is to
fold the Wikinews operation into Wikipedia. Is that right?
Fold Wikinews altogether so it doesn’t confuse the public. Wikipedia
editors are already doing a stellar job.
Andrew
On Tue, Apr 16, 2019 at 8:15 PM Andrew Lih
<andrew.lih(a)gmail.com> wrote:
On Tue, Apr 16, 2019 at 2:27 PM Jennifer
Pryor-Summers <
jennifer.pryorsummers(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Wikinews may not be doing too well, but (English-language) Wikipedia
seems
to have taken up a news-gathering role not
entirely consistent with its
encyclopediac mission: perhaps that's the reason. Maybe the WMF should
sort out the demarcation issues.
Jennifer,
This has been a topic of discussion for more than a decade and the vast
majority of the community has converged on the conclusion that Wikinews
hasn't and won't ever work at any scale given its fundamental properties.
News is often described as "the best obtainable version of the truth
given
the constraints of a deadline." News depends
on memorializing direct
observation at a point in time. Therefore, the following policies that
make
Wikipedia work are a bad fit for original,
deadline reporting:
Wikipedia:NOR - no original research
Wikipedia:RS - requirement for reliable sources
Wikipedia:V - verifiability
Wikipedia:NORUSH - there is no deadline/eventualism
Most anyone who tries Wikinews first hand will experience this mismatch
and
realize it is a poor fit.
However, rather than lament why Wikinews doesn't work, we should
celebrate
the fact that we have found a better mode:
entries that evolve minute to
minute (oftentimes second to second) to best reflect the world as we know
it. Embrace that new, live, constantly updated snapshot of reality – the
Wikipedia article.
If you want to see some of the earlier debates about the origins of
Wikinews, October 2004 is a good place to look:
[1]
https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2004-October/thread.html
[2]
https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2004-October/061017.html
-Andrew
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--
-Andrew Lih
Author of The Wikipedia Revolution
US National Archives Citizen Archivist of the Year (2016)
Knight Foundation grant recipient - Wikipedia Space (2015)
Wikimedia DC - Outreach and GLAM
Previously: professor of journalism and communications, American
University, Columbia University, USC
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