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How to write an article
  1. Pick something current?
  2. Use two independent sources?
  3. Read your sources before writing the story in your own words?. Do choose a unique title? before you start.
  4. Follow Wikinews' structure? for articles, answering as many of who what when where why and how? as you can; summarised in a short, two- or three-sentence opening paragraph. Once complete, your article must be three or more paragraphs.
  5. If you need help, you can add {{helpme}} to your talkpage, along with a question, or alternatively, just ask?

  • Use this tab to enter your title and get a basic article template.
    [RECOMMENDED. Starts your article through the semi-automated {{develop}}—>{{review}}—>{{publish}} collaboration process.]

 Welcome! Thank you for joining Wikinews; we'd love for you to stick around and get more involved. To help you get started we have an essay that will guide you through the process of writing your first full article. There are many other things you can do on the project, but its lifeblood is new, current, stories written neutrally.
As you get more involved, you will need to look into key project policies and other discussions you can participate in; so, keep this message on this page and refer to the other links in it when you want to learn more, or have any problems.

Wikipedia's puzzle-globe logo, © Wikimedia Foundation
Wikipedia's puzzle-globe logo, © Wikimedia Foundation
  Used to contributing to Wikipedia? See here.
All Wikimedia projects have rules. Here are ours.

Listed here are the official policies of the project, you may be referred to some of them if your early attempts at writing articles don't follow them. Don't let this discourage you, we all had to start somewhere.

The rules and guides laid out here are intended to keep content to high standards and meet certain rules the Wikimedia Foundation applies to all projects. It may seem like a lot to read, but you do not have to go through it all in one sitting, or know them all before you can start contributing.

Remember, you should enjoy contributing to the project. If you're really stuck come chat with the regulars. There's usually someone in chat who will be happy to help, but they may not respond instantly.

The core policies
Places to go, people to meet

Wiki projects work because a sense of community forms around the project. Although writing news is far more individualistic than contributing to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, people often need minor help with things like spelling and copyediting. If a story isn't too old you might be able to expand it, or if it is disputed you may be able to find some more sources and rescue it before it is listed for deletion.

There are always discussions going on about how the site could be improved, and your input is of value. Check the links here to see where you can give input to the running of the Wikinews project.

Find help and get involved
Write your first article for Wikinews!

Use the following box to help you create your first article. Simply type in a title to your story and press "Create page". Then start typing text to your story into the new box that will come up. When you're done, press "save page". That's all there is to it!



It is recommended you read the article guide before starting. Also make sure to check the list of recently created articles to see if your story hasn't already been reported upon.


-- Wikinews Welcome (talk) 13:42, 7 May 2013 (UTC)Reply

Hi!

I note, taking a quick look at this, that the two cited sources are from the 8th — three days ago. That's tending towards {{stale}}; are there any more-recent developments/reports that could supplement the article and avoid that problem? --Brian McNeil / talk 13:14, 11 October 2013 (UTC)Reply

Tunnel story

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A great read, but, admittedly, it did have a few style problems. In my opinion, you should back up, take a deep breath, and re-focus on something current. This seems big enough, that there should be another recent article about this tunnel. When an article fails, dont take it personal!! I mean that! Keep trying! --Bddpaux (talk) 15:40, 16 October 2013 (UTC)Reply

Israel releases 26 Palestinian prisoners within the negotiation for peace

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This article was also deleted as abandoned, but please don't let this discourage you from writing on Wikinews! —Mikemoral♪♫ 02:10, 18 November 2013 (UTC)Reply

French team of experts: Arafat not poisoned

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Published. Congrats! Various stuff came up during review; please see my review comments, and detailed history of edits during review. --Pi zero (talk) 18:06, 6 December 2013 (UTC)Reply

Published. See detailed history of edits during review. --Pi zero (talk) 20:52, 26 December 2013 (UTC)Reply

Israel releases 26 Palestinian prisoners

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Published. See review comments and history of edits during review. --Pi zero (talk) 16:26, 2 January 2014 (UTC)Reply

Hamas returns rocket-prevention forces to action

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Published. Please see detailed history of edits during review. --Pi zero (talk) 17:27, 6 February 2014 (UTC)Reply

Question

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Here — a result of a quick read of the story. --Gryllida 20:55, 12 February 2014 (UTC)Reply

Pope invites Palestinian and Israeli presidents to mutual prayer at Vatican

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...and the NYT paywall strikes again. Review comments. --Pi zero (talk) 18:24, 27 May 2014 (UTC)Reply

Egypt article

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I'm about to disappear for the next 48 hours, so I cant review that article; but, you might carefully re-consider the wording on the last two sentences. Words like "usually blames" are kind of contentious.....I foresee that not fitting in with our style guide very well here. --Bddpaux (talk) 21:27, 30 June 2014 (UTC)Reply

Egypt temporarily opens Rafah border crossing to pilgrimage from Gaza
Published. See my review comments. --Pi zero (talk) 15:26, 2 July 2014 (UTC)Reply

Hi. This needs a bit of work for neutrality/style. Review comments. --Pi zero (talk) 11:15, 10 July 2014 (UTC)Reply

Thanks for efforts to address the first review. Published. See review comments. --Pi zero (talk) 21:05, 10 July 2014 (UTC)Reply

Needs a compact lede (I've suggested a remedy for the headline, too), and I figured it needs improvements to its neutrality. If they keep opening and closing the border, it should be possible to add updates that keep it fresh. Review comments. --Pi zero (talk) 01:07, 14 July 2014 (UTC)Reply

Well, published. I'm not 100% satisfied with the headline, but, well, one tries one's best.
I note you haven't really got the hang of Wikinews-style neutrality yet. The idea is that we don't assert as fact, things that are controversial or subjective. Like why people do things, or what's going to happen next. We try to inform our readers so they are more able to judge those sorts of things for themselves, by reporting objective facts about what happened, who did what, and who said what.
Review comments. --Pi zero (talk) 20:57, 15 July 2014 (UTC)Reply

Tenacity

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Looks like you're hanging in there! Keep it up! --Bddpaux (talk) 16:39, 14 July 2014 (UTC)Reply

Israel initiates ground maneuver in Gaza Strip

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Well, published. No big difficulty on neutrality (just a few words changed near the beginning), but some problems with verification. Review comments. --Pi zero (talk) 22:27, 19 July 2014 (UTC)Reply

Hi. Unfortunately our review labor pool and the review queue struggled at just the wrong moment for your article; if we'd gotten to it just after it was submitted, I suspect it would have worked out, but as things are, it needs some sort of update for recent developments to refresh it. --Pi zero (talk) 10:52, 16 August 2014 (UTC)Reply

Published. Review comments, history of edits during review. --Pi zero (talk) 15:02, 21 August 2014 (UTC)Reply

Five hundred migrants alleged killed in deliberate sinking in Mediterranean

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I've started taking a look at this, and — to be honest — the Ma'an source (which is pretty-much pulled from AFP in the first place) certainly helps confuse things. The major failing there, which got me confused about the days they state things happened on, is that the IOM are commenting on two sinkings; the more-recent, seems to have been Sunday and due to their boat capsizing. The deliberate sinking was last week, with only tales from a handful of survivors providing details on that.

Now, I've downstyled the title; but, it's still incorrect. None of the reports say which flag/nation either ship was registered under (knowing it was a Maltese registration is the only way the headline could use 'Maltese ship'). The sinking last week was near Malta, whereas the capsized ship was nearer Libya.

I've seen Pi zero working to give you pointers, the first one I'd suggest here is to bring the IOM allegations this may be a case of mass-murder — stated in Monday's statement (i.e. yesterday) — to the fore, and make it the key opening focus of the article.

Second, I'd suggest Mediterranean people traffickers' sinking may be 'mass murder', says IOM for the title; that gives you all the details the first paragraph (lede) would need to have, and then forms the opening focus for the report. --Brian McNeil / talk 18:42, 16 September 2014 (UTC)Reply

Now called "Ship carrying 500 immigrants to Malta sinks in Mediterranean Sea". I pretty much agree with Brian McNeil's comments.
After struggling with issues of freshness and choice of focus, I concluded the article needs adjustments I couldn't provide as independent reviewer, so I've not-ready'd it; please see my review comments. --Pi zero (talk) 23:26, 16 September 2014 (UTC)Reply
Latest rename to Five hundred migrants alleged killed in deliberate sinking in Mediterranean. Was revised and resubmitted by another contributor. --Pi zero (talk) 18:44, 17 September 2014 (UTC)Reply
Published. See detailed history of edits during review. --Pi zero (talk) 21:33, 17 September 2014 (UTC)Reply

I'm sorry to see this article didn't get reviewed in time; It seemed interesting and I'd really hoped to review it myself, but real-world responsibilities prevented me. --Pi zero (talk) 11:54, 9 October 2014 (UTC)Reply

Published. Careful with direct quotes reported by the sources; they have to be either direct-quoted here, or paraphrased. History of edits during review. --Pi zero (talk) 22:40, 10 November 2014 (UTC)Reply


You're terribly overdue for this...

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but here it is anyway!!

  Exceptional Newcomer Award
I, Bddpaux, hereby award Yusuf Alsheikh the Exceptional Newcomer Award for contributions made to Wikinews.--Bddpaux (talk) 19:35, 11 November 2014 (UTC)Reply


And here's one of my personal favorites

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Which you should've received long ago!

  The Order of the Modest Pencil


For completing 5 edits.

Great work! Keep it up!--Bddpaux (talk) 19:39, 11 November 2014 (UTC)Reply

And let's make sure we don't forget this one!

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This award is presented to Wikinews reporters upon their 11th published news article.



--Bddpaux (talk) 00:55, 12 November 2014 (UTC)Reply

Published. I couldn't access Al Arabiya, though, and took alternative measures to cope. I seem to recall having the same problem with Al Arabiya the last time I tried to access it for a review, too. I recommend not using it as a source until-and-unless you can determine that the problem is fixed. --Pi zero (talk) 18:59, 11 December 2014 (UTC)Reply

I'll check the "Al-Arabiya" site, and will not use it until I come up with a solution.
Thanks for editing and publishing another one of my articles.
-- Yusuf Alsheikh

Hamas supports Yemeni President

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Hi. Good to see you submitting again. Unfortunately, the article had a couple of significant problems (other than showing evidence you were a little rusty on some fine points): it was already well past fresh when submitted, and the material in the last two paragraphs needed to be presented differently, as it came out as analysis and thus non-neutral. Review comments. History of edits during review. --Pi zero (talk) 11:57, 3 April 2015 (UTC)Reply

Crossings between Israel and Gaza Strip reopened

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Awfully sorry about this. I can't access Al Arabiya. I could have at least taken a quick look at the article sooner to check that... but, well, didn't. :-(  --Pi zero (talk) 17:32, 10 June 2015 (UTC)Reply

Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan on hunger strike for over 50 days

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I feel bad I wasn't able to get to this sooner; there's not enough time now to maneuver before some new development would be needed. At any rate, review comments. --Pi zero (talk) 22:08, 27 June 2015 (UTC)Reply

Hi. Copyright problems with this. Review comments. --Pi zero (talk) 19:44, 10 September 2015 (UTC)Reply

Hi. Unfortunately, WSJ is one of those news sites that puts its stuff behind a paywall. I can't access the source. Review comments. --Pi zero (talk) 20:46, 25 October 2015 (UTC)Reply