At the last newspaper I worked at, the worst thing would be a journalist referring to *another* journalists story for their facts. That was fraught with danger, as they mostly report on the report on the report that could be (was?) usually wrong!
Of course, journalists do that all the time now, thanks to computers and databases and laziness... so the incorrect information can be reported over and over again. Wikipedia is only guilty of the same crime as every other source...
Check, double-check and check again.... then check once more :)
Steve
________________________________
From: Gonzalo Baeza <gbaeza@gmail.com>
To: rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, 12 December, 2008 6:53:27 AM
Subject: RARA-AVIS: Re: "Pulp" broadcasts on BBC7
I remember how in the last newspaper I worked for the editors sent
out a memo warning every reporter not to use Wikipedia unless they
could corroborate its information with other sources.
Wikipedia is good in that it fills a void that's not covered by
conventional encyclopedias, especially when it comes to pop culture.
Nonetheless, you have to to use it with caution. The way it
operates, it's too vulnerable to deliberate misinformation.
--- In rara-avis-l@ yahoogroups. com, Jesse Willis <jessewillis@ ...>
wrote:
>
> Wikipedia has that info right. Wikipedia bashing should be a
crime. It aint perfect, but it's a work in progress.
>
> J.
>
> SFFAudio: http://www.sffaudio .com
>
>
> --- On Thu, 12/11/08, Dick Lochte <dlochte@... > wrote:
> From: Dick Lochte <dlochte@... >
> Subject: RARA-AVIS: Re: "Pulp" broadcasts on BBC7
> To: rara-avis-l@ yahoogroups. com
> Date: Thursday, December 11, 2008, 9:11 AM
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> In downloading the readings be sure to let the
recording go for a few extra
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> minutes and you'll hear a very British, very self-assured BBC
announcer note
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> that Paul Cain is the author of The Postman Always Rings Twice.
Once the
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> initial amusement wears off, however, there's the depressing
thought that,
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> except for we noble few, the history of crime fiction matters less
and is
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> less well known than the history of Brittany Spears, And not even
the BBC
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> cares enough to research their "facts." It's a Wikipedia world.
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> Dick Lochte
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Start your day with Yahoo!7 and win a Sony Bravia TV. Enter now http://au.docs.yahoo.com/homepageset/?p1=other&p2=au&p3=tagline
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