Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wikipedia In the Newsroom
Many people believe Wikipedia is an absolutely unreliable source to use for reseach. Surprisingly, newsrooms are begining to accept Wikipedia as a informational source. Although it may be unreliable, there are still trusted facts that can be used. Donna Shaw stated, "Wikipedia can be used as a starting point for reporters to immerse themselves in a topic." I agree with Donna, while on the other hand, why use Wikipedia if you are forced to check their facts, as Shaw said, "use other cites to check Wikipedia's accuracy." Emerging from experiences I've had, Wikipedia entries are sometimes factual and reliable, but can still be carelessly updated and untrue. Journalism150 give me your feedback on your experiences with Wikipedia and what you think.
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Every since I began to use Wikipedia ,I have not found one untrue fact on there, however I do understand that anyone can go on and edit anything. I agree with Aziza when she states, why use Wikipedia and you have to check your info afterwards? In my opinion, that is a complete waste of time and excellent writing energy!
ReplyDeleteI have no instance that I have confirmed a "fact" on wikipedia to be untrue. This is due to the fact that I never used it for something I really cared about since the 7th grade, (at which time teacher told us we could fail automatically for using it, especially on large projects).
ReplyDeleteI disagree however that double checking is a waste of time, seeing as how you would have to do that in other places too, such as Facebook, or Twitter.
I usually just avoid Wikipedia when doing research.
ReplyDeleteI use it to look up song lyrics and things that I'm just curious about, but never in research for school projects, because- like many people have said- it is inconvenient to double check the "facts" when you can just get them from the more reliable source in the first place.
I totally agree with Michelle. I don't use Wiki for research unless I procrastinate and absolutely need some kind of information. I'm glad to say I'm getting better at diminishing the procrastination issue..I don't have a choice with this class!
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