This Wikinews effort is driven by noble motives, but is more suited to an evolving story, such as the tsunami disaster, which continuously unfolds and has many aspects that continue to need attention. For instant reporting and in-depth news gathering, I think the following comment is relevant. Nevertheless, the effort will be fascinating to watch and should be on every traditional news organization's radar screen.
The attempt to mitigate bias and include relevant facts is important work.
Above all, the central question about the Wikinews effort is its credibility. "Making a newspaper is hard," said Robert McHenry, former editor in chief of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Someone who wants to do it but doesn't really know how hasn't solved the problem by gathering a lot of other people who don't know, either."
Mr. McHenry was skeptical about Wikinews's ability to provide a neutral point of view and its claim to be evenhanded. "The naïveté is stunning," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment