American Journalism Review has an interesting article on whether more journalists are embracing Wikipedia as a legitimate source. Bottomline: Not really. But some are using it as a roadmap or starting point to gather information that they then verify with more legitimate sources before using. We've talked in class - and most J-school professors agree - about not using Wikipedia as a source, at least without further verification. Although I admit that Wikipedia is amazing in many ways, read noted journalist John Seigenthaler's piece on his personal experience with Wikipedia and you'll have a better understanding of why you need to be skeptical. Seigenthaler is a retired journalist and founder of the First Amendment Center. He also was an assistant attorney general and close friend of Bobby Kennedy. If you still have doubts about whether Wikipedia is safe as a main source, see what Stephen Colbert has to say on the subject.
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