What Is An Objective Source

Essay on editing Wikipedia

This folio in a nutshell: Please be mindful that a reliable source to you may not exist so for others; try to obtain objectively reliable sourcing.

Please recollect that the website, news plan, and newsletter that you find reliable and often use to get information may not be viewed the aforementioned by other editors of Wikipedia. In these situations it is all-time to find an objective source which corroborates your favored source.

Many times discussions on whether to include information into articles turns on whether information technology tin can be reliably sourced. Oft the discussion may go along similar this:

Editor one: Has this been reported anywhere? Nosotros demand a reliable source.

Editor 2: Yes, I saw it last night on Countdown with Keith Olbermann.

Editor 1: Olbermann!? That's non a reliable source, that guy lies all the fourth dimension and has a bias confronting X in any instance.

Editor two: That'south not true, and as well most of the information on that program is true anyhow. Yous don't take to like the source, it only needs to be reliable.

Although editor 2 may be right in reading the letter of the alphabet of Wikipedia policy regarding reliable sources, another response, which would have garnered more than skillful faith, and would be more preferable would accept been this:

Editor 2: Fine, you don't similar Olbermann, but he was reporting on something that was in the AP, and I tin notice the story in my local newspaper.

Editor 2: Although I think the information is reliably sourced, I'll wait to detect a source that we both agree is reliable, like the paper or AP.

Although you will observe some users who think a mainstream newspaper like the New York Times is unreliable, this essay is not meant to lend credence to claims of liberal/conservative bias in the news media. However, even in mainstream print media editors should be aware of the difference between items in the editorial columns and items in the news section. Specifically if an item is in a special cavalcade, editorial or op-ed slice, editors should look for corroborating information in the news section.

Further, although there are many authors, pundits, celebrities, and journalists that may garner trust and the aura of reliability as their views fit in line with yours, that does not necessarily hateful that they also pass the tests for reliable sourcing. For example, Al Franken's book is non the best source on whether Pecker O'Reilly actually grew up in Levittown. Rather than using Al Franken's book, a copy of the Country Recorder would exist more than objective and suitable. Further items in the Beak O'Reilly newsletter may seem to be objective and reliably sourced, yet, still attempt to discover news article relating to the subject field earlier using the newsletter as a source.

Nothing in this essay is meant to annotate on the veracity of the authors in question. It is merely to point out that the motives of the private may cause the fudging of important details which would add context to a situation. This would make ordinarily reliably sourced information less reliable.

In this era of 24 60 minutes news channels sometimes the stardom betwixt what is news and what is commentary can be blurred. It is important for editors here to know the difference between what is being reported and what is but rumor and allusion provided by the host of the news commentary program. To that end, it is probably in the editor'south best interest to not source items to these programs although they may feel that these programs are trustworthy. Simply considering you saw something on Greta Van Susteren, does not necessarily hateful that you are getting an objective review of what actually happened. In these cases, information technology is in the editor's best involvement to review what more objective sources, like the AP or Reuters are reporting.

Although news commentary shows similar Nancy Grace, Scarborough Land, Hannity and Colmes, and the O'Reilly Factor will oftentimes engage in serious discussion of current news, it is important for the editor to distinguish that these shows oft accept an open calendar. Granted these shows do not autumn into the category of extremist sources, all the same, the agenda of the program may colour the presentation of certain information. Therefore, information technology is appropriate that editors refrain from using these shows as primary sources for information not sourced elsewhere.

In addition, editors should be mindful that programs which discuss news, but are primarily comedic in nature, similar Saturday Nighttime Live, the Colbert Written report, or the Daily Testify, should not be used as a source unless it is in reference to something occurring during the show.

Further, in contempo times the Internet has get a major source of data virtually electric current events. These includes blogs, and sites similar The Drudge Report and the Huffington Post. According to WP:RS blogs are largely non adequate every bit sources.^[i] Nonetheless blogs that also collect news information present a unique challenge to the Wikipedia Editor. For example, the Huffington Post blog also contains an extensive repository of news articles from effectually the country. The Wikipedia editor should be aware of quoting information directly from websites like this. In these cases, information technology is best to simply source to the newspaper article and not to the blog. If the article can only be accessed through the web log, perhaps the editor should explicate in the citations where the article is from and state that the Post is but hosting information technology. Also, the Drudge Report and other websites similar to information technology, although not blogs per se, may often contain breaking news which has not been reported in the mainstream media. It is advisable for editors to merely wait until it is reported in the mainstream media. If information technology is truly something of notation, information technology volition be reported somewhere in the media in due fourth dimension.

Wikipedia:Check your facts, essay
Wikipedia:Mutual knowledge, essay
Wikipedia:Independent sources, essay
Wikipedia:Verifiability
Wikipedia:Citing sources
Wikipedia:Don't create hoaxes
Wikipedia:Assume Good Organized religion

^ Some newspapers host interactive columns that they call blogs, and these may be acceptable as sources and then long as the writers are professionals and the web log is discipline to the newspaper'southward full editorial control; that is, when it isn't really a blog. Posts left on these columns past readers may never exist used as sources.