Do Wikis Have a Place in the Newsroom?

Wikipedia has more than 340,000 articles, written by a sprawling online community. Researchers are testing its veracity, while plans proceed for fact-checking it formally. Can journalists trust Wikipedia, and can collaboration software such as wikis improve newsgathering?

Mark Glaser wrote this on OJR. Thanks to Ross for the link.


Journalism relies on collaboration to build trust. If these words were simply typed on my computer and posted to this page, how much would you trust them? Most readers trust the journalism they read in newspapers, see on TV or check out online because they assume there are editors, fact-checkers and some unseen apparatus making sure everything is correct. And the sources journalists rely on also play a key role in determining authority.