Wikinews:Accreditation requests

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To file a request for credentials or for revocation, please read over the Accreditation policy first. You can also view the accredited users list.

If you would like to receive official Wikinews credentials, please type your username after the slash in the box below, click "request", then follow the instructions. After you have posted, the user's entry will solicit Support/Object votes from Wikinews users for the duration of 7 days for accreditation and 14 for revocation. At the expiration of this time period the user will either be granted accreditation, or the vote removed from this page and archived. In the case of revocation a case may be closed early, but no earlier than 7 days, when there is overwhelming consensus.

Upon successful accreditation

Once accredited, you can get a personal email address on Wikinewsie. Please contact user Brian McNeil about this, your email address will be made up based on the details given when applying — if you have a middle name and you feel having this in the address (or its initial) is important, please say so. You must either provide an existing email address for the password to be sent to, or have enabled email from your en.wikinews account and specify this as the preferred contact method. For further information, contact an active, established, already-accredited user. Requests for an email address must be verifiable — either submit via 'email this user', or signed, and on Brian McNeil's talk page.

In addition to a wikinewsie.org email address, accredited reporters may — at their own expense — obtain a stock of business cards clearly indicating they are an accredited reporter. You can see a sample here. (Note, degraded to a quality that prevents use.)

Contents

Current requests

The following discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

• Four different Wikinewsies speak with one voice, here; try writing some news and we'll roll from there. Yet, this user's only edits have been to seek accreditation. Months have passed. Drawing this out any longer would be a waste of time. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 04:25, 6 January 2019 (UTC)

Gthuman123 (talk)

Name: P H Doyle

Location: Topeka, Kansas, United States

Areas of interest: Engineering, Busniess, Government

Reason: Inverviews

Accomplishments: Doyle v Transunion

Contact information: Patrick_h_doyle@yahoo.com

User ID: Gthuman123

Applied on: 16:37, 31 October 2018 (UTC)

Getting accreditation is something of a 'big deal', and I don't think 2 edits would do. Leaderboard (talk) 16:45, 31 October 2018 (UTC)

• Yeah, there honestly isn't a basis here to support accreditation; no content edits here, no activity at all anywhere else on the sisterhood. We're certainly interested to help out a newcomer to Wikinews (just, accreditation isn't appropriate at this stage). --Pi zero (talk) 23:45, 31 October 2018 (UTC)
• Hello Gthuman123! Thanks for applying for accreditation. What interviews would you like to do? --Gryllida (talk) 22:41, 31 October 2018 (UTC)
• Response to Gryllida: Election issues currently. Banking in the near future.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Gthuman123 (talk • contribs)

Well, the best way for you, @Gthuman123: would be to start writing regularly--the best way to learn about the project policies and philosophies, as well as to earn the reputation that one needs to get to any higher post. On a side note, as why this request is self-explanatory for why a lot of work is to be done: things should be understood by global audience; and "Topeka, KS" highlights that point. (Who was that veteran Wikinewsie who would say, "You are not in Kansas anymore"?)
103.254.128.86 (talk) 15:50, 1 November 2018 (UTC)

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The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page, such as the current discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The following discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

• Failed. The community did not support this request. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 03:57, 6 January 2019 (UTC)

Bubba73 (talk)

Name: Jud McCranie

Location: Brunswick, Georgia, US

Areas of interest: Now mostly photographing historic buildings, especially on the NRHP

Reason: I often am approached by people wondering what I'm doing - sometimes police or security people. I'd like to have photographer credentials. An additional reason is that I often have to shoot a house from a long distance away, through trees, because I don't feel comfortable going up to the house to ask for permission. Credentials would help.

Accomplishments: Many edits to the English Wikipedia (76,000 in 12 years) and many photos uploaded, and a very large number of photos uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. Autopatrolled with rollback permission.

Contact information: j.mccranie comcast ● net

User ID: 218586 Bubba73 (across wiki projects)

Applied on: 05:20, 2 May 2017 (UTC)

Comments

• Comment Now that you have mentioned "I often have to shoot a house from a long distance away, through trees, because I don't feel comfortable going up to the house to ask for permission.", Wikinews is not a medium to get away with photographing something or someone who were not permitting you to take photographs before. I don't know how it will help make you feel better taking the photos if you were never comfortable with it. It is possible accreditation might help, but it is more about photography ethics here, I feel. And at least for Wikinews, you must have their permission to interview and photograph, and disclose that you are going to report on Wikinews. I didn't know this when I first did it.
  acagastya 05:54, 2 May 2017 (UTC)
  • Reply - I have never felt comfortable about walking up to a house and asking if I can take photos. Some people on the Wikipedia NRHP (National Register of Historic Places) project suggest that I do that (they have done it). I would feel more comfortable about doing that if I had some credientials on me. Bubba73 (talk) 04:01, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

That is the question of personal ethics. Besides, it will be good to point out how you are going to contribute to Wikinews if you want accreditation from Wikinews. Anyone can upload files on Commons. Most of the users that I know, or have met, or saw the userpage never hinted about working for this project. I think Commons should hand out accreditation for photographers who are going to contribute photos only.
acagastya 05:15, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

I wish Commons would do that, but they don't, as far as I know. Bubba73 (talk) 14:24, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

• • Reply Here is an example of where I could have gotten a better photo of a house if I had felt comfortable walking up and asking. Bubba73 (talk) 04:26, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

• Comment OK, tell you what: point us to some of your images at Commons.....how about that as a starting point? I think I get what you're going for here and that's no crime. We just have A LOT OF PEOPLE who breeze in here (with no efforts to establish their credibility -- as a person/journalist/or whatever -- and ask us to accredit them just-like-that. So, you can respect that we're a wee bit gun shy about that sometimes? --Bddpaux (talk) 17:29, 2 May 2017 (UTC)

• • Reply This is a link to my uploads to Wikimedia Commons. A few of them are from recent events but the bulk of them are photos of historic buildings, almost all on the NRHP. I have 3,773 pages on my watchlist on Commons - almost all of them are photos. Some are ones that I improved with photoshop or from NASA, but the great majority are ones I've taken (must be well over 3,000 of them). Before 2010 I uploaded to en.wikipedia and a number of them have been transferred to commons. Bubba73 (talk) 04:04, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

• Comment When we photograph, we have a reason to. There is something we want to tell others, depict something which would be impossible to put up in the words, or provide some information (...and all of the photography philosophy). As far as that house is concerned, it can be useful for a news article if something happens in that house. But if you had a good reason to take that photo, you should go and take the photo, and if somebody questions, tell them, "Madam/Sir, I was taking pictures of the house because whatever your reason may be, tell them honestly. I hope you do not mind. But if you do, I will delete the photos." And you must delete it because this is the question of ethics.
  acagastya 05:37, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

• • That house is noteworthy because it is on th NRHP, but not in the news. Some people like to see architectural details, which I can't get from that distance. And yes, I'm too shy to just walk up and known on the door. And, for instance, a month or two ago I was walking down the street photographing the NRHP Twin Cities Historic District and someone came up to me and asked was I was doing. I said that I was taking pictures. They asked "what for?"
  • Sometimes historical buildings get destroyed and that makes the news. For instance, I had before and after photos here of a historical building being destroyed (it was in the local news). (Some of the other "places in peril" photos on that page are mine, too.) Bubba73 (talk) 14:31, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

• I did a search on Wikinews for Brunswick, Georgia and Glynn County, Georgia and there isn't much news here that makes it to Wikinews. But if someone wanted a photo of a news event here, or pretty close to here, I could go get it. Bubba73 (talk) 14:45, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

A couple of things: First; when I was taking photos of ATMs when I was writing this story India discontinues ₹500, ₹1000 denominations; releases ₹2000 and new ₹500 bills, security guard asked me why I was taking photos in Kannada. I tried to explain him that it was for news and he said I am not supposed to. It is possible that they said no for security reason, but I was a) not in a position to explain them what is Freedom of Panorama because of the language barrier and b) not accredited. You are in a better position than this. And Second; even if you have accreditation, people reserve the right to question you, say no to you or even tell a police official. You can tell about Freedom of Panorama and the police might help you there, but the accreditation would not stop others from questioning you.

As far a historically significant buildings are concerned, I don't think it should be a problem since you can always say: "I want a photo of this historical architecture."
acagastya 09:29, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

• Well, you've certainly contribute A LOT OF IMAGES at Commons, that's for sure. (A little aside here: I've gotten a lot of mileage simply saying, 'I'm a reporter working on a news story.') Non-Americans bring an interesting angle, because 'accredited' means a lot outside of the old US of A.......us, with our Freedom of the Press thing, and all.....but I digress. Well, at least we know you've cranked out a lot of output! Do you imagine yourself writing here much? --Bddpaux (talk) 21:14, 9 May 2017 (UTC)

Ummmmmm, an answer to my question might be nice. --Bddpaux (talk) 22:16, 2 June 2017 (UTC)

Sorry for the delay, but I didn't know that I had a message. No, I don't expect to write for WikiNews - there usually isn't much news other than local news here in Brunswick, Georgia. The Savannah and Jacksonville (exp Jax) newspapers cover some local news, and sometimes the Savannah and Jacksonville TV stations have something. The last big news here was the hurricane last fall, and it didn't hit us hard. Bubba73 (talk) 22:32, 2 June 2017 (UTC)

I encourage you to consider online original reporting or over the phone: email people and give phone calls to find information which is not currently available online. This is one quite useful form of original reporting. I myself did this to retrieve weather data to support claims with plots, and to query researchers about their research background and methodology. It works and with accreditation with the wikinewsie.org email address people seem more responsive! Original reporting does not have to be in person.

I am hoping that for your current activity the comment by SVTCobra above is useful. Cheers, --Gryllida (chat) 04:27, 19 September 2018 (UTC)

• Comment - It looks like I'm not going to get the pass, probably mainly because I only want to take photos and not contribute news items. There was a case a few months ago when I could have used it, though. I had tickets for a concert. I knew that cameras were not allowed inside, but I wanted to take a photo of the venue before I went in. I took a photo. Two security people came over and asked if I had credentials. Of course I don't. They said that I could not take photos of security (the security people checking the concert goers). I didn't want a hassle that would prevent me from seeing the concert, so I brought the photo up on my camera and showed them that I was deleting it. However, my camera has two cards, with photos going to both, and the delete button only removes it from the first card, so I still had the photo. I cropped it to take out the security people and uploaded it to commons: File:St. Augustine Amphitheatre, St. Augustine, Florida, U.S.jpg. Bubba73 (talk) 07:29, 17 November 2018 (UTC)
  • Thanks for the follow-up Bubba73. I would suggest to write several news stories and re-apply then -- writing "based on existing online sources" is a good exercise to practice the pillars, so that you know what notes are important to take for your original report. After gaining such practice, I personally encourage you to re-apply to accreditation indicating what kind of local events you would like to attend and report on in the future. --Gryllida (talk) 07:58, 17 November 2018 (UTC)

Votes

Support You, my friend put your WORK where your mouth is! If ever there's been a person worthy of accreditation for photographic submissions to Commons, it'd be you! --Bddpaux (talk) 21:38, 1 September 2017 (UTC)

@Bddpaux: I don't think handing out accreditation for anyone with a camera is a good idea. They should have a history of contribution, and establish a trust before they can shield themselves with a press pass.
acagastya PING ME! 16:07, 2 September 2017 (UTC)

Well, let me offer a few comments here. Yes, accreditation is about trust. Yes, its a serious thing and should be treated as such. We here at English WN are 'vouching' for that person and their credibility as a contributor. I own a camera and I'd bet you do too. LOADS AND LOADS of people come here, hang about for 6 minutes, then ask for accreditation. (You weren't one of them.) When they don't get it, they often tantrum and run away mad! Now, you use the term 'shield themselves'. I know that, in various parts of the world, the term 'Press Credentials' means different things and that's fine. I can walk out on a nearby sidewalk and do 85% of EVERYTHING a reporter with the Dallas Morning News can do right this second. It's not always like that in certain countries and I'm aware of that....okey-dokey....fine. This guy, though.....asked for it....and then HAS CONTINUED TO PHOTOGRAPH many historical homes in his geographic area. To also split some VERY fine hairs, each of us are still (technically) operating as "independent" journalists......even if we are 'accredited' here! The Wikimedia Foundation doesn't buy insurance for us. I'd be willing to bet if we were sued in light of a story, we wouldn't be able to get ANY of their lawyers to call us back! This guy is a WORKER.....go check out his stuff over at Commons. He's pretty much said he's not a writer....and that's fine....it is. But we've had enough TALKERS around here (no, I'm not insulting you, I promise I'm not).....we've had a devoted person come here, tell us he's a DOER and has followed thru on that promise. I'm good with the guy all the way around. We are currently vetting you as a reporter here (noticed I voted support). You've done what you said you'd do. Journalism isn't always 'clean' or 'pretty' or 'easy', but we're all (the few of us, I mean) in this together and I feel like the guy is legit. --Bddpaux (talk) 21:42, 5 September 2017 (UTC)

@Bddpaux: For the part "This guy is a WORKER [...] He's pretty much said he's not a writer" -- it is okay if they don't write articles. However, there is photo essay which they could do. Looking at the bigger picture, accreditation is not a way to get free passes to XYZ. If we use tell someone that we are accredited and wish to cover/report something, that is the real use of accreditation. And then there are journalistic ethics one needs to take care of. There are two school of thoughts when it comes to photography. A) Ask for permission. B) Don't wait for "the perfect moment". Until and unless it is not a sting operation, we must ask permission to photograph. When I attended Comic Con, before every single photo, I asked for the permission -- more than 200 times in the whole day. For the minors, I asked their legal guardians. However, I noticed some people who had media accreditation, did not ask for consent for cosplayers and took the photo. Bangalore ComicCon clearly stated that Cosplay is not consent and one must ask for permission -- those "professional" journalists were careless enough to violate the ethics. If this user gets accreditation, I would expect them to keep up with it (not that I am questioning about how they do -- besides they even spoke about it); and I would expect a photo essay when they get access to something which was possible just because of the accreditation. [FWIW -- I do not have my own camera, and I had not touched a camera for more than twelve months, before I went to Bangalore comic con.]
•–• 08:31, 11 December 2017 (UTC)

and before we get too deep here: 'We must ask permission to photograph'....um, yeah.....maybe and maybe not. I live in the US of A. When I attend (local) conventions/Maker Faires etc. there is a HUGE DISCLAIMER at the entrance telling people that just by entering, they're consenting to be photographed. We can chatter on adding all manner of bloviate to this topic all day, but the issue is: do we accredit the guy or don't we? --Bddpaux (talk) 17:03, 28 December 2017 (UTC)

I really have no desire or motivation to argue anything you're saying here. It's all fundamentally correct...but to what end? Based upon all this...I think we owe the guy a decision in-the-least. --Bddpaux (talk) 22:35, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

Regarding consent, per photography ethics, we must ask for consent. Other thing is: consent to be photograph is not same as granting permission to be uploaded on the internet. Besides, we are also allowing anyone to use the photo, modify it, make money -- people did not sign up for it. That is the reason I decided to release my photos of ComicCon under ND license -- next time, I guess I would choose to use NC-ND because people did not sign up for them becoming face of a brand.
•–• 18:08, 28 December 2017 (UTC)

OK, once again.....lets bring this long winded discussion back to our world here at Wikinews. Look at the policy on Accreditation. Please point out for me this 'photography ethics' policy. Sure, I'd bet you could find it in a college journalism text book.....fine. But this project (and the Wikimedia Foundation) have policies. Yes, Commons license(s) have some parameters about who can be photographed etc. .....all that is fine and great. I want anyone accredited by us to play by the rules.....super terrific! To loop back around here: I can't find any evidence that the guy has done anything bad/wrong/incorrect or whatever. In the end: just decide which way you want to vote and go that way, OK? It's time to make a decision......heck, the guy has probably vanished by now. --Bddpaux (talk) 23:40, 28 December 2017 (UTC)

There is no mention of journalistic ethics on the policy pages. I could have lied and could have told the reviewer almost anything when I interviewed a shopkeeper who answered in Kannada [I bet you did not get a word of it]. Not everything is said, nor it has to be. Let's not get down to discussing what is missing from the project space pages. Accreditation is not only for photographing things or people, you know better than me. Things are pretty straightforward; if one has not contributed on this project, I am not going to say "yes". I know people who are good at photography, but do not follow photography ethics, let alone journalistic ethics. If they start uploading photos on Commons and ask for the rights on Wikinews, I would not be okay with that. We are supposed to tell the person whom we are going to photograph that their photograph would be uploaded on Wikinews, and if possible, we should explain them about the license we wish to use. Let me ask you one thing: do you agree consent of photograph does not mean the photographer can upload the photo anywhere?

Wikinews' reputation is at stake when the reporter does something problematic. And without knowing the basic journalism ethics, (which took me time to learn because of the time I spent on Wikinews) it is wrong. Think about this situation -- I tell someone I am from Wikinews, can I have a photo of yours? or I am taking someone's photo without permission, and if they question me, I say, Oh, I am from Wikinews but I never upload those photos for Wikinews' use. I end up selling those photos somewhere else [play all the permutations in your head with on what type of websites]. Think about the situation when that person comes to know their photos were used for a different purpose, and not what they had permitted to. When one contributes to the project, they would generally think good of the project and not indulge in any wrongdoings. I found out I can get free entry for ComicCon events if I ask for media accreditation, and I can just say I am from Wikinews, and avoid paying money for tickets. But I would not do that because I understand the ethics involved. Without actual contribution on the project, I can not trust anyone -- we have dealt with a lot of noobs, some learns from failure, some would go berserk. You never know what kind of editors they are, until they stay on the project of long enough. Speaking of the time, well, I had to wait for longer duration than this user had to (243 days in my case, 241, for this user's case) even though I had written about 250 news articles by then. Until I do not see contribution from this user on the project, let it be a photo essay, if they are not a writer, I am not saying a "yes".

Note: I am not accusing this user for the various scenarios I was discussing.
•–• 07:47, 29 December 2017 (UTC)

Not a terrible argument at all. --Bddpaux (talk) 22:45, 6 January 2018 (UTC)

I think I would agree with Acagastya on this. Bubba73 is a major contributor to English Wikipedia and to Commons but their entire contribution to Wikinews is centred on this request page. I could list a bunch of things I do on other WM projects (see my userpage if you really want to find out), but they shouldn't have a bearing on a request like this. I may have misunderstood the initial reasoning but I can't see a difficulty in obtaining photos of historic buildings. As far as I know, in the US, you don't need permission to take photos of things that are viewable from a public place (apart from obvious cases like photographing through an open window or door). Particularly if the building is historic, I am sure that the owners will be aware that other people might be interested in their property. The major objection (at least as far as Wikimedia is concerned) is of course the publication of photos of copyright scultpures and other artworks in public places, but that is a different issue. Green Giant (talk) 15:01, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

Oppose for now. I will support once there is a significant corpus of Bubba73's work here. Green Giant (talk) 15:01, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

not to forget FoP in the US.
223.237.228.203 (talk) 15:34, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

Cheers. I added a link to the Commons page on this issue. Green Giant (talk) 15:40, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

Oppose I suggest user:Bubba73 read w:Wikipedia:Press pass. Wikinews does not issue press credentials/passes for activities that are not related to news gathering. It is quite frankly unethical to present credentials as a news journalist, if ones activity is not for news purposes. --SVTCobra 18:00, 30 January 2018 (UTC)

Oppose Apart from some concerns about Bubba's answers to questions, it's simply a fact that he has never contributed anything here (https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Bubba73) and doesn't even promise that. This brazen request for undeserved credentials should have been closed with a negative vote a year ago, imho. Gray62 (talk) 08:41, 5 October 2018 (UTC)

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Recently closed requests

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• Closed as successful. Restoration of voluntarily resigned status. Open for several months, and has picked up three supporting votes from established Wikinewsies, no objections. The original application for accreditation garnered more votes. --Pi zero (talk) 18:11, 2 May 2018 (UTC)

acagastya

Name: Agastya Chandrakant

Location: Mysore, India

Areas of interest: Sports, Science and technology, Crime and law, Politics and conflicts, ... basically, almost everything, honestly.

Reason: To be able to conduct formal interviews, and cover some local news.

Accomplishments: I have six ORs including one photoessay with two interviews, and created 278 news articles which were published.

Contact information: acagastya outlook ● com

User ID: 1526439

Applied on: 17:09, 5 February 2018 (UTC)

Comments

• Reapplication after resigning rights across-the-board. --Pi zero (talk) 14:33, 25 March 2018 (UTC)
• Suggest a different naming convention for this second request; implementing, tentatively. --Pi zero (talk) 14:42, 25 March 2018 (UTC)

Votes

• Support As with reviewer rights, which were regranted, I'm okay restoring this. One such incident doesn't unduly bother me. --Pi zero (talk) 14:33, 25 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support --SVTCobra 15:37, 25 March 2018 (UTC)
• Support per the previous work done including reporting from WikiCon. Green Giant (talk) 16:45, 12 April 2018 (UTC)

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• Close as unsuccessful. User withdrew nomination. --SVTCobra 11:37, 25 December 2017 (UTC)

Lhcollins (talk)

Name: Lhcollins

Location: Maryland, New Jersey, & Pennsylvania, USA

Areas of interest: Emerging musical acts and the venues that support them. Other interests include Psychology and environmental issues.

Reason: To give me the access I need to contribute to Wikinews, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikipedia more effectively.

Accomplishments: Regarding venues, The Ottobar, Lucerna Music Bar, The Upstage Club, The Saint (music venue), Asbury Park Music Awards and numerous fixes to articles about other small venues (e.g., The Stone Pony, Hammerjacks, The Recher Theater). In terms of emerging artists (and one DJ), Charlie Mars, The Ries Brothers, Deal Casino, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Emily Grove, Holme (band), The Blind Owl Band, and Jeff Raspe. In real life I am a psychology professor whose hobbies include construction, home renovation, photography, web design, digital art, technology. I am a published author.

Here are the photographs I have contributed to Wikimedia: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Lhcollins

Contact information: lc chwd1 ● com

User ID:

Applied on: 13:48, 2 September 2017 (UTC)

I would also like to be able to apply for press passes. They require a letter from my editor. How is that handled? Thank you for your help.

Comments

You have never contributed to English Wikinews. Just because you wish to help Wikipedia and Commons (and hopefully this project too), we can not grant accreditation. You need to establish yourself as a trustworthy editor. Wikinews is not a place where one can get free press passes, you need to earn it.
acagastya PING ME! 16:04, 2 September 2017 (UTC)

• It would have been more appropriate for me to ask for credentials from Wikipedia or Wikimedia since I already have a long history of contributions as a trustworthy editor with them (Wikimedia Commons & Wikipedia contributions for the music world alone), but I couldn't figure out what their process was to get press credentials, or even if there is one. Thanks anyway. You just saved me a lot of money! :-) Lhcollins (talk) 14:39, 23 September 2017 (UTC)

Votes

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• Closed as successful. --Pi zero (talk) 13:51, 24 November 2017 (UTC)

Acagastya

Name: Agastya Chandrakant

Location: Mysore, India

Areas of interest: Sports, Science and technology, Crime and law, Politics and conflicts, ... basically, almost everything, honestly.

Reason: To be able to conduct formal interviews, and cover some local news.

Accomplishments: I have four ORs, and created over 150 news articles which were published.

Contact information: acagastya outlook ● com

User ID: 1526439

Applied on: 21:27, 26 March 2017 (UTC)

Comments

• Hi Acagastya, I am glad that you are volunteering to be a reporter. Please answer several questions inline. :) --Gryllida (talk) 23:11, 9 April 2017 (UTC)
  • Local original reporting in person is perhaps best done with one person doing the photography and another taking notes. Do you have a peer who would be willing to help? --Gryllida (talk) 23:11, 9 April 2017 (UTC)
  • What news or events are of interest for you to attend in the future? (Some reporters are known to use their accreditation to enter parliament or sports events or competitions in the past; it would be interesting to know which ones you would be targeting.) --Gryllida (talk) 23:11, 9 April 2017 (UTC)
  • Have you performed any interviews before (perhaps by passing them to an existing Wikinewsie reporter if the interview target is not responsive)? I recall a controversial topic on the Chinese Traditional Medicine; while I quite liked it and the enthusiasm, it seemed too challenging to cover in a relevant neutral way. Have we got anything else as an example? --Gryllida (talk) 23:11, 9 April 2017 (UTC)

@Gryllida:

• About photography, I do not have any peer to help me photograph, and even if I had, I would not want to. There is a reason behind this. The peer will be the author of those photos. Those photos should be licensed under a Creative Commons license. I have tried to explain my friends about CC license many times, and every single time, 1) they would not understand 2) are not willing to listen and understand the license 3) are bored 4) have a problem with commercial use term. I am interested in photography, and I believe I can manage taking photos and notes, though it will not be easy, but it is better to obtain photos under CC license that the author allowing the photos to be released under CC license just because he or she wants me to stop telling about the terms of the license. (Just in case if anyone wants to see some of my photographs, visit this link; but I do not shoot humans frequently)
• I have covered almost every kind of (sports, politics and conflicts, science and technology, disasters and accidents, obituaries, culture and entertainment, crime and law ...). But my ORs were focused on politics and conflicts and crime and law. In India, I will get opportunity to cover articles on crime and law and politics and conflicts more than any other category, which becomes my primary focus. I would be happy to cover other events from the other category as well, if I get an opportunity.
• Yes, I have interviewed few civilians for my ORs. I recorded an interview (for India discontinues ₹500, ₹1000 denominations; releases ₹2000 and new ₹500 bills) and sent to scoop and Pi zero. Another interview was for Magnitude 7.5 earthquake hits Afghanistan, I left the notes on the talk page of the article.
  acagastya 21:30, 11 April 2017 (UTC)

Thanks for the answers. One more question, what would you use accreditation for, if approved? What kind of events would you primarily target? --Gryllida (talk) 23:12, 18 April 2017 (UTC)

@Gryllida: As I said, I would be happy to cover events from various category, but, Crime & law and Politics & conflicts will be my primary target, as that is the easiest one to find and follow. (And about the licensing, they are impatient, and would not listen after a while. If someone approaches me to know about it, I will explain them, but it is clear that it is pointless to explain to everyone. After all, the don't know what is copyrighted, what accounts for copyright violation and what is fair use or commercial use. They think photography starts and ends with someone seeing a subject and pressing the button and don't want to know anything more than that for a simple task like photography.)
acagastya 12:45, 19 April 2017 (UTC)

Having picked a theme to focus on has an advantage: that particular thing is exposed in depth, continuously, which helps to gather a group of people around it who read the news and help to report them.

"Crime & law and Politics & conflicts" is OK as the theme. Please keep it up. :-)

Is it in a particular geographical area or internationally? --Gryllida (talk) 02:01, 20 April 2017 (UTC)

@Gryllida: I would not be going abroad anytime soon. So, it will India. Since my college is in a different state and my home is in other state, It depends where I am. I can't specify a particular geographic area. But the primary target is Crime & law and Politics & conflicts in India, let it be central or state level.
acagastya 05:46, 20 April 2017 (UTC)

• Question User:Acagastya Our page WN:OR has some small discussion of identifying oneself as a reporter when asking questions. I seem to recall this issue came up with regard to some reportage you were doing a while ago. What are your thoughts on the legal and ethical considerations involved? --Pi zero (talk) 17:18, 20 November 2017 (UTC)

@Pi zero: I believe the article you are thinking about is India discontinues ₹500, ₹1000 denominations; releases ₹2000 and new ₹500 bills. If you remember, not only the story was getting stale (since I decided to write about US presidential election), there was a language barrier -- I could understand Kannada, but not speak it. That was the reason it slipped out of my mind that I should disclose I am asking for Wikinews. However, while writing, I remember asking you (on IRC) how I should present the information and I informed you that I could not tell them I was asking for Wikinews.

Legal and ethical considerations -- it seems likely that one should disclose they are doing this for a news org, however, there are cases when journalists need to go under cover. [We even had an article where journalists carry a sting operation going under cover -- that was for Sam Allardyce article.] Similarly, when I was watching Batman v Superman, Bruce Wayne says something, and asks not to quote him. Let's change the scenario, where a country's leader was caught accepting that they did something terribly incorrect [think about any worst case situation, I don't want to create any hypothetical scenario now] -- if they ask us not to report it -- what will we do? We are not priests that we have to keep mum for a confession. On your talk page, there is a quote which says something like "Journalism is printing [publishing] what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations." PR might be an important thing, but telling the truth, publishing the facts -- that is the most important thing. One should reveal the information of their org, but if the situation demands -- which I do not think would arise in the near future, one has to go undercover. "Sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Boston" might not be the best example, but it is no secret that going undercover [which I presume is not so common] can yield dark facts. FWIW, I can not make any scenario where I would have to keep my identity hidden, so I would disclose my relations with Wikinews for ORs.
•–• 18:06, 20 November 2017 (UTC)

Votes

• Support I see no problem here. (And please keep trying to explain licensing to a friend slowly, it's a challenging task :-).) --Gryllida (talk) 23:11, 18 April 2017 (UTC)
• Support I think you've tried to hang around here and help out quite a bit! Journalism (and people's perception of it) requires a lot of patience and tenacity! --Bddpaux (talk) 17:26, 2 May 2017 (UTC)
• Support -- numbermaniac 08:03, 4 June 2017 (UTC)
• Support --Pi zero (talk) 18:20, 20 November 2017 (UTC)
• Support Has a clear use case for benefiting from accreditation and is experienced with the project. —Tom Morris (talk) 08:48, 22 November 2017 (UTC)

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The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page, such as the current discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The following discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

• Closed as successful. Following close questions asked, veteran Wikinewsies supported and none opposed; community response to the nomination clearly positive. --Pi zero (talk) 12:58, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

Dennis Bratland (talk)

Name: Dennis Bratland

Location: Seattle, Washington

Areas of interest: News and event photography, photos for Wikipedia biographies, National Register of Historic Places and other historic or significant places. Wikipedia article writing on motorcycles, photography, Seattle, Washington, and various topics.

Reason: Press credentials for improved access to special events, e.g. semi-annual Ballard Locks inspection

Accomplishments: Editor since 2004, 39,890 Wikipedia edits, 2 Good Articles, 28 DYKs. Many of my photos have been used by news media and blogs off Wikipedia. Photos: File:Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn at the Ballard Neighborhood Greenway Celebration.jpg, File:Carson Ellis and Colin Meloy signing Wildwood in Portland.jpg, File:Leaving courthouse on first day of gay marriage in Washington.JPG, File:David L. Hough at 2009 Seattle International Motorcycle Show.jpg, File:Leaving Seattle City Hall on first day of gay marriage in Washington.jpg, File:Ballard Locks cleaning 2012-03-16 01.jpg, File:Caitlin Doughty University Bookstore 2014-09-18 2.JPG

Contact information: dennis.bratland gmail ● com

User ID: Dennis Bratland

Applied on: 01:26, 23 May 2015 (UTC)

Comments

• While we certainly do not require a Wikinews-accredited reporter do their primary wikimedian contribution to Wikinews, we do want someone who has shown willing and able to do some Wikinews writing, and demonstrated some regard for Wikinews. Accreditation is the Wikinews community vouching for the reporter, after all, and we need both to know how that person will conduct themself as our representative to the world and — realistically — what we get in return. Your writing credentials are on Wikipedia; writing for Wikinews is a very different experience — different writing styles, here there is a deadline, even our notion of neutrality is different (articles on each project can look non-neutral when seen through the lens of the other project's policies).

  Some pages you may find useful reading: Wikinews:For Wikipedians;  WN:Pillars of Wikinews writing;  WN:Writing a Photo essay. --Pi zero (talk) 19:46, 24 May 2015 (UTC)

  • I'm not a Wikinewsie, but as an outsider I find this an interesting question. When the creation of Wikinews was first debated, it seemed to me that there was a definite understanding that Wikinews wouldn't try to claim a monopoly on writing about current events—this being one of the chief concerns raised against it. Wikinews supporters argued that the opposite would be true, and the project would in fact support the other projects with all of the great material gained through better access. The "what [do] we get in return" argument is therefore a bit offputting to me, I have to admit. Since this person I don't know (but whose credentials as a Wikimedia contributor appear pretty solid) wants to contribute the other way around, uploading media of current events for the benefit of this project among others, I don't really see how deadlines and NPOV policy differences are factors as important as you make them (bold, italicized) in your comment. But—and please believe me when I say that I don't mean this sarcastically—were he to take a break from working toward his soon-approaching 40,000th Wikipedia edit, what would a reasonable number of Wikinews articles be for him to write? Austin (talk) 21:59, 25 May 2015 (UTC)
    • @Austin: This isn't about other projects covering current events; that's an entirely orthogonal issue. By accrediting someone, Wikinews is putting its own reputation at risk, and thereby its own ability to cover things. It's only fair for us to want to have some confidence in how that person will behave. If they don't care about Wikinews, they're definitely not a good risk, because they don't care whether they make Wikinews look bad. If they use Wikinews accreditation to gain access, then what they do with that access reflects on Wikinews, not just on whatever project they use the access for. By not conducting themselves with journalistic integrity they can do damage to Wikinewsies' ability to cover stories. On the other hand, if they use our accreditation to gain access and then comport themselves well, they can add to our reputation even if they don't contribute to Wikinews — but that's a delicate balance, because if they care about Wikinews enough to protect our reputation, why wouldn't they contribute some of the fruits of their labor to Wikinews? --Pi zero (talk) 23:03, 25 May 2015 (UTC)

• • • I have neither the energy nor the desire to wade off too deeply into this, but this has been a long-running issue for us here. Wikinews is about news. When one asks for accreditation, they're asking us to vouch for them as a JOURNALIST who understands the fundamentals of journalistic integrity. No one (that I'm aware of) has ever claimed that we have any type of monopoly on current events. Someone can post a perfectly formidable article at WP on an event that occurred one hour ago, so long as it's properly sourced -- and the same applies for us here. There're just a few niggly differences between how we dip into sources, compared to how an encyclopedic article might do that. The bloke is probably a perfectly legit stand-up kinda guy, we just need to see some indication that'll he'll play nicely with others and will contribute here in a nice way. This project requires a VERY HIGH level of humility....and you can't take things personally. --Bddpaux (talk) 23:34, 25 May 2015 (UTC)

• Comment Wikinews policy at Wikinews:Accreditation policy seems to be clear that intention to contribute to the Wikinews platform is not a prerequisite for getting Wikinews accreditation. Is this user being judged on the basis of his intention to contribute to Wikinews? Is it policy to give the accreditation to people with no intention at all to contribute to Wikinews?

This person raised the issue on a Wikimedia mailing list. Blue Rasberry (talk) 13:17, 26 May 2015 (UTC)

Probably it is better to discuss this part at Wikinews_talk:Accreditation_requests#Accreditation_for_Wikimedia_contributor. Blue Rasberry (talk) 13:32, 26 May 2015 (UTC)

I had hoped for some of the following reactions to my comments:

• attempt to justify expectation that the candidate would conduct themself with journalistic integrity, by means other than Wikinews contribution, along with explanation of why this expectation is consistent with absence of Wikinews contribution, and perhaps some justification of why contributing to Wikinews would be somehow an undue burden.
• attempt to contribute to Wikinews (which frankly should not be all that difficult for a wikimedian photographer in good standing who starts by talking to us and learning how it's done).

Instead I perceive I'm being accused of exclusionism, which frankly I think is an unjustified accusation. From the first sentence I wrote here: "we certainly do not require a Wikinews-accredited reporter do their primary wikimedian contribution to Wikinews". I did not write those words casually. I meant them. I'll go further, and explicitly say that I believe Wikinews is happy to provide accreditation to persons who expect to almost never contribute to Wikinews. The accreditation being requested is for journalism, by Wikinews. I think it's only common sense to ask someone who wishes to be accredited by Wikinews to do some contribution to Wikinews as a preliminary to accreditation. --Pi zero (talk) 15:07, 26 May 2015 (UTC)

@Pi zero: I have no opinion about English Wikinews policy. The only opinion that I have is that press accreditation is useful in the context of the Wikimedia movement beyond English Wikinews. The English Wikinews community is among the smaller demographics which has a use for Wiki press accreditation. Probably the biggest need is at Wikimedia Commons, because photography goes there and because it is international in scope. Wikipedias in every language also have a need for press accreditation. I contribute to English Wikipedia and sometimes use the name of the magazine for which I work to get press entry to events, and it helps sometimes.

I am not accusing anyone here of anything. I am seeking information about consensus and best practice.

You say accreditation is offered to people who "almost never" contribute to Wikinews. What about to people who will never contribute to English Wikinews? I have no opinion about what is common sense - I am seeking an outlet for press accreditation for the Wikimedia community. If English Wikinews is that outlet, then great, and if not, then that is great too because it means that Wikimedians wanting accreditation should go somewhere else. I am asking what the community here wants. If English Wikinews were the hub for Wikimedia movement press accreditation, then that means that the entire Wikimedia community would converge here to go through the process, and maybe a small percentage of them would stay around and contribute. If there are barriers to this, and if the English Wikinews community prefers to preferentially accredit contributors who intend to make at least one contribution to English Wikinews, then I want to check options for assigning Wikimedia press passes somewhere else for people who either do not want to contribute to English Wikinews.

It is reasonable for you to ask for people endorsed by English Wikinews to attempt to contribute to this project. Likewise, I hope you think that it is reasonable to say that the Wikimedia community should go somewhere else if they need press accreditation for another Wikimedia project if that accreditation is not offered here. Because the English Wikinews press accreditation process is most developed in all Wikimedia projects so far as I know, though, I think it would be best to ask the community here what they want to happen. Perhaps people here would prefer to be more open just so that more attention and traffic can come through this project, or on the contrary, perhaps the community here agrees that remaining more exclusive is better for the brand name here and that sending non-participants elsewhere is best.

Thoughts? What do you want to happen here for people who expressly say that they will not contribute to English Wikinews? Blue Rasberry (talk) 16:26, 26 May 2015 (UTC)

@Bluerasberry: I agree that press credentials are of value for Commons as well as for Wikinews. (Whether it's relevant to Wikipedia is another question; Wikipedia makes a big deal out not allowing original research... but Wikipedian policy hypocrisy is a whole other can of worms.) I can tell you that press credentials is a difficult problem, and if you want to know about its challenges, Wikinews is the place to ask because we're the ones who have been struggling with it for years. In particular I recommend you would do well to speak to Brian McNeil. --Pi zero (talk) 16:54, 26 May 2015 (UTC)

• The number of photos I have of public events, such as the Mayor's ribbon cutting, the city council inauguration, the Wildwood book signing, the first same sex marriages at Seattle City Hall, etc., as linked to above, is evidence that I have been able to go out to an event and return with a photograph without besmirching the reputation of Wikimedia. At Caitlin Doughty's book signing, I didn't manage to get very good photos but I introduced myself to her and explained what Wikipedia needed for an author bio photo, so she released a head shot CC-by-SA via an OTRS ticket. So I can intereact with real humans in a way that benefits Wikimedia. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 04:25, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

Ok, there's been a lot of interesting dialogue brought up here and I think some important things have been discussed (although, maybe not properly resolved, but let's not slip down that slippery slope!) Let me ask you this, then: Noone is saying you have to contribute articles here to become accredited by us as a reporter, BUT would you be willing to commit to maintaining dialogue with some of our reporters here to keep them abreast of some of the photos you have taken/will be taking?? That way, we can boost our cooperation level in a way that one hand is washing the other, so-to-speak. That way, you can sort of function as a 'staff photographer' and our writers can benefit from your work. What do you think?? --Bddpaux (talk) 18:53, 2 June 2015 (UTC)

Yes indeed, that's something I can realistically commit to. And requests to document upcoming events or to provide background photos for stories are welcome. Dennis Bratland (talk) 19:01, 2 June 2015 (UTC)

• Per talk page request, this search has photos I've done this year -- the top 60 or so are 2015. The exceptions are the ones without the edit summary User created page with UploadWizard. If it instead says something like {{Information |Description=Bellingham, Washington protest against Arctic drilling. See w:Seattle Arctic drilling protests |Source=[https://www.flickr.com/photos/theslowlane/17836715269/ " then it's just a file I transferred from Flickr. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 00:20, 25 June 2015 (UTC)

• Comment What do you expect from Wikinews accreditation?

I do not mean in-terms of what content you expect to contribute — wherever such may prove of most-use — I refer to in-terms of what additional recognition, or credibility, you expect this to provide.

I've looked at your photos, they're certainly well-worth looking to get for use across all projects. What I'd add to, try and encourage an interest in contributing here, is that we allow images which might otherwise be deleted from Commons. Examples would be The EU Parliament in Strasbourg, or images where in-copyright artworks might be considered unacceptable. (Easiest to cite my own work, I can find examples thereof instantly as-compared to other people's work). Further to that, our presence over on Facebook is likely to exceed 90,000 by month-end, that's quite an organisational reach for such a small project; Wikivoyage, Wiktionary, and Commons, combined don't even come close to an order of magnitude less reach.

I'd like to address some of the other comments over on the (now-{{flag}}ged) discussion page, but not right now. I've been off-project for a considerable time due to utterly despairing over the WMF rejecting FDC recommendations to fund a workable accreditation programme, and a variety of — some quite serious — health problems. I need to ease myself back into on-project work over the Festive season, and properly plan the long wished-for migration of wikinewsie.org services to Iceland so we can finally take advantage of the IMMI.

I am inclined, on the basis of discussion here and supporting votes, to weak support. It's long past-due for the Wikinews vs Wikipedia hatchet to be buried. I know this is a somewhat old discussion now, but seeing the FDC actually "grow some" and be highly critical of the WMF itself gives me a glimmer of hope the community can take some of the power back from the Foundation. --Brian McNeil / ^talk 16:25, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

• Request close Shouldn't this be approved now? It's been here for 6 months. Thanks! --Dennis Bratland (talk) 17:24, 26 January 2016 (UTC)

• I agree it should be closed, but am not happy to take that decision due to my patchy contribution level of late. I'd read the comments and votes as a pass, but I've a few concerns about what the consequences might be. Ideally, the WMF might take a few steps towards having an official programme — and put some of their mountain of cash into the liability insurance something like that needs. Don't think things have improved any in that regard since the departure of the prior CEO; or, one could uncharitably conclude they've got worse. (I'll keep my thoughts regarding Sue, formerly not at-all well-loved of CBC.ca, non-public thank you.)

So, someone else take the decision, please. Dennis assuming it's a passing close, prod me on my talk page for the @wikinewsie.org email address and a template for the biz cards we've used previously. Admittedly, that needs an update since the addition of Wikivoyage to the family. Beyond that? Well, the most help we can give is 'social engineering' by email to help you get better access.

Hopefully, when it does come to attending newsworthy events, you can drag along someone prepared to have a go at writing it up for here. Or, get access to events that can be done as photo essays. Just — please, assuming it's a passing close — don't publicise it on Commons/Wikipedia until you've a portfolio of photos in use here. --Brian McNeil / ^talk 20:15, 26 January 2016 (UTC)

And remember to contact me via Wikimail or Gmail if anyone wants me to photograph a news event around Seattle and Puget Sound. Accreditation or no, I'm always happy to respond to requests for photos, research, and other work as needed. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 20:24, 26 January 2016 (UTC)

• Offer greatly appreciated, Dennis. I actually have a couple of friends in the Seattle area I still keep in-touch with online. One takes a very close interest in local politics, and writes well. Could easily see him covering local elections, asking some very pointed questions, and providing a quality summary of goings-on which would benefit greatly from photos.

Do you do any audio/video work too? I ask since Andy Mabbett has a nice little project capturing audio of people for Wikipedia. I've also made use of video which resulted in something similar, thanks to a lot of help from Wikimedia Austria & Germany. Point is, there's a surprising scope for use of photographic and/or A/V work here. Plus, with local upload permitted — and the ability to assert Fair Use/Fair Dealing — we could probably help get you onto local museum and gallery press lists. Newsworthy (Wikinews) versus Notable (Wikipedia) are such wildly different yardsticks I suspect you'd be surprised what might pass publication criteria here. --Brian McNeil / ^talk 23:25, 26 January 2016 (UTC)

I can do audio and video if necessary, but I wouldn't claim to be particularly good at it. If nobody with an A/V aptitude is available, I could try and the results would probably be acceptable if the conditions aren't too challenging. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 03:31, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

Votes

• Support Good photographers are in demand. Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:39, 24 June 2015 (UTC)
• Support Photoessays on Wikinews are a fine tradition. Reading through the conversation above, the suggested arrangement Bddpaux suggests seems reasonable. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 12:44, 16 September 2015 (UTC)
• Support Haven't seen any reason to oppose while I was lurking. Reguyla (talk) 17:48, 16 November 2015 (UTC)
• Support I'm supporting your request for one simple reason: you did what you said you'd do (you continued to put up content over at Commons)....which is commendable. --Bddpaux (talk) 21:46, 28 December 2015 (UTC)

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The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page, such as the current discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The following discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

• Unsuccessful; as this has been open a good long time, with 50% opposition from veteran Wikinewsies, it's not realistically going to turn into a positive decision. --Pi zero (talk) 18:27, 16 November 2015 (UTC)

Hawkeye7 (talk)

Name: Ross Mallett

Location: Canberra, Australia

Areas of interest: Sports, Military, Australia

Reason: To facilitate ability to cover international sporting events, particular Paralympic events.

Accomplishments: I have nearly 60,000 edits of Wikimedia Projects, including 43 featured articles and nearly 200 good articles. I have written dozens of Wikinews articles including six featured news articles.

I have a previous, successful, request, which is archived here and an unsuccessful re-accreditation request here

Contact information: hawkeye7 gmail ● com

User ID: 180828

Applied on: 21:55, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

Comments

• Question What do you believe has changed since your last request? --Pi zero (talk) 22:05, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

  Time has passed. People have moved on. I have demonstrated my good faith and good works. I meet all the stated requirements for accreditation in the Wikinews:Accreditation policy Hawkeye7 (talk) 01:12, 25 June 2015 (UTC)

  Rereading the discussion from your last application, I see a lot of disbelief of fault on your part. And now what you say is "People have moved on"? I read that as saying you hope the people who remember have left. The implication being that you see the failure of that application as being other people's fault rather than yours. --Pi zero (talk) 01:57, 25 June 2015 (UTC)

  You read it incorrectly. All I am saying is that I have demonstrated my good faith and good works. Hawkeye7 (talk) 02:54, 25 June 2015 (UTC)

• Comment It seems pertinent to note you seem to think not being ready to hand over accreditation is somehow equal to a complete community ban from editing. BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 21:18, 20 September 2015 (UTC)
• CommentOK, I'm going to say a few things and then I'm going to render my vote. Several weeks back, you put this at PiZero's page, when he reminded you that you can submit here without accreditation: "I cannot. I must have accreditation to attend events. Without Wikinews accreditation, I have had to accept accreditation from another organisation. And that means I then cannot post to Wikinews at all." I weighed in (neutrally, mind you) on your last request for accreditation....I commented there (and many other places, at other times) that humility is held in high regard here. Over the past 15 months, you've made very few general edits, barely assisted with two specks of cleanup or anything of that ilk. OK...I won't prattle on down that lane too far, but it's still a fact.

So, true, ok....you can't prance around AS A JOURNALIST at public events in Australia without accreditation. Your quote: "I must have accreditation to attend events." No you don't. You must have accreditation to attend events as AN ACCREDITED JOURNALIST.....to wear your pretty little badge and sit in the media tent etc. etc. So, without all that: You attend an event. Bob and Bill are racing. Bob runs faster than Bill. Bill trips, falls gets hurt and bleeds. Bob wins. The crowd cheers, 'We still love you, Bill.' The medics run onto the field and attend to Bill. You happen to be sitting next to Bill's friend, whom you tell you're working on an article to post online about the race (you state this honestly to the friend). He says, with tears in his eyes, "Bill is the greatest bloke ever. He's worked so hard. I'm just gutted over this loss." You come here, write all that down and submit it. THAT'S JOURNALISM!!! Are you telling me, that in your country, if you did that, police would break down your door and haul you away to jail in the middle of the night?! I'm asking you, seriously...not rhetorically. You don't need accreditation to do that stuff....not here!!! This is CITIZEN JOURNALISM. Ok, so some countries won't give you a badge without a vouching organisation....I get that now (it took me a while to understand that). But I have read a few lines about laws in other countries....and people have blogs, they have Facebook pages etc. If you see/hear something, can't you use that in an article? People come here, seeking the glory but don't want to sacrifice their guts....and it's just annoying. (See, I went down that lane, even though I wasn't going to.) --Bddpaux (talk) 18:22, 21 September 2015 (UTC)

What a lovely surprise. People on Wikinews have never asked me about what I've been up to before. You brought up a lot of points. I wasn't able to post anything on Wikinews for a year. Which was a pity, because I had a lot of material that could have been used. I'm not an admin any more either, so there wasn't anything much I could do in that regard to help out. I'm a historian, not a journalist. However, if my accreditation is restored, I promise a good output. Where you can go and what you can do depends on the event in question. Australia is pretty good in that regard, we have broad freedom of panorama that extends to interiors, and you can wander around even major sporting events with a camera and take pictures. The real leg work is in building up a rapport with the players, coaches and officials. Having done that, a sporting organisation will usually issue a pass. Now it gets a bit more difficult when we move to the international arena. In many cases, I travel as a quasi-member of the Australian team. Take, for example, the recent trip to China. Which you can read about here. In this case, being with the team was the only way I was able to access the venue at all. However, once inside the compound, I was quite free to mingle with the athletes and officials and to take photographs, China being a country with robust freedom of panorama. There is more than just physical access though. There's broadband internet, there's the score sheets, and there's photocopiers, so you can take copies of documents the teams lend you. In China, there was a lot of trouble with the Great Firewall. Google, Facebook, Twitter were all out of bounds. Wikipedia worked though. For the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Canada in 2014, I was able to secure media accreditation that gave me access to the media facilities. Unfortunately, they had me working flat out on Wikipedia, so I was only able to switch to Wikinews for the last couple of days. I spent my final day in Canada transcribing an interview for Wikinews. It takes roughly 20 times as long to transcribe an interview as it takes to write it up. Which brings me to the Big Show. Now for London 2012, I was able to secure accreditation through the Australian Paralympic Committee. There were strict rules though, about access, about where you could go, and what you could photograph. The requirements for Rio 2016 are far more stringent. I am going to need a special visa. They don't normally let media in without a lot of documentation, so I was accumulating this, but recently they have created a special visa class just for the Olympics. So the letter of invitation from the APC may be enough. I cannot take that chance at the present time though. Hawkeye7 (talk) 11:08, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

Votes

• Support --SVTCobra 23:53, 31 July 2015 (UTC)
• Oppose --Pi zero (talk) 01:06, 1 August 2015 (UTC)

Based on the past history, there appears to be a serious risk Hawkeye7 could become involved in some incident that, if they're accredited, could seriously mar our public image. I have never seen any reason to think they understood what the problem was in the first place, nor that they have come to understand it any better since, which strongly supports concern of repeat incidents. To me, that's a showstopper, trumping all other considerations; we must not accredit someone known to be a serious risk of besmirching our good name. Frankly, even if I accepted the nominee's claims of being unable to contribute at all without accreditation, it would only me sadder about the importance of not accrediting them. (I agree with BRS about the cliché.) --Pi zero (talk) 22:30, 21 September 2015 (UTC)

I have never done anything that would mar our public image. I resigned from Wikinews to avoid it being abused as a vehicle for a bitter personal dispute. Hawkeye7 (talk) 22:06, 23 September 2015 (UTC)

Thank you for stating your position clearly. That has been my understanding of how you perceived the situation. --Pi zero (talk) 23:16, 23 September 2015 (UTC)

If you have any reason to believe otherwise, I am willing to address your concerns. I note that serious allegations made against you, which you have never responded to. Hawkeye7 (talk) 23:58, 23 September 2015 (UTC)

• Oppose with a heavy heart after reading some history. The cliché but appropriate phrase being "nobody's a winner here". BRS ^{(Talk) (Contribs)} 22:03, 15 September 2015 (UTC)
• Support So, amidst my sordid rant...I say, Meh...what the heck! You'll probably do great. Now, we ascribe to "Assume nothing." here, while the other project loves "Assume good faith." Point-of-fact: you've contributed a great deal of good stuff here, so statistically-speaking, you'll probably do the same again. Also, whatever that thing was you did, or didn't do, of might've done, or might've said or WHAT THE HECK EVER....try not to do it again, OK? --Bddpaux (talk) 21:39, 21 September 2015 (UTC)
• Support I had positive interactions with them on others WMF sites. I don't edit here much so I don't know all the history but I support. Reguyla (talk) 17:47, 16 November 2015 (UTC)

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The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page, such as the current discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Consensus has been reached on this Accreditation request, and the result is Closed as unsuccessful —Mikemoral♪♫ 10:44, 5 February 2015 (UTC). Do not add anymore votes or comments on this request.

Netscr1be (talk)

Name: Patrick Boake

Location: Toronto, Ontario Canada

Areas of interest: Cross-pollination of technology, science and culture, cryptocurrency

Reason: Want to cover and submit news stories

Accomplishments: Published in WikiNews, Globe & Mail ....

Contact information: https://plus.google.com/+PatrickBoake/about

User ID: NetScr1be

Applied on: 02:26, 29 December 2014 (UTC)

Questions and comments

• Question Accreditation is used for original reporting (OR). It doesn't look like you've ever done OR for Wikinews; our standards for documentation of OR are more careful nowadays than they were in the early years of the project. How would you use accreditation? What sort of original reporting do you want to do? Also, for perspective, how does it happen you're applying now, after last contributing here in 2010?

and, not to split hairs...accreditation is mostly about OR; but, to not waste time going down that road, LOADS of people (apparently) seem to come here, thinking that accreditation is going to give them the Keys to the Kingdom (and, I suppose, in a small way, it does). But, we generally like to "see" who you are and what you are as a journalist, before rendering accreditation. When we accredit you, we're vouching for you as a reporter. Can you help us see why we should vouch for you? --Bddpaux (talk) 16:40, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Votes

Oppose I've made no less than two attempts to spark more input, with zero response, so I see no other recourse but to vote 'No'. --Bddpaux (talk) 15:28, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

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Consensus has been reached on this Accreditation request, and the result is Closed as unsuccessful —Mikemoral♪♫ 07:03, 29 September 2014 (UTC). Do not add anymore votes or comments on this request.

Yussufey (talk · contribs)

Name: yussuf Hussein mohamed

Location: Nairobi,kenya

Areas of interest: politics and other local news

Reason: to be a better person in the field of Journalism

Accomplishments: i was someone who stands for the the communities in my region

Contact information: yuhumokey hotmail ● com

User ID: Yussufey

Applied on: 00:37, 30 August 2014 (UTC)

Votes

• You don't need accreditation to contribute to Wikinews. You should gain some experience with writing synthesis here, to start with. Then, with a bit of experience, you can move up to original reporting. And then would be the time to apply for accreditation. So, not now. --Pi zero (talk) 01:15, 30 August 2014 (UTC)
• Oppose I believe you need to learn your way around here just a bit more first. --Bddpaux (talk) 20:38, 3 September 2014 (UTC)
• Not yet... Handing out accreditation to anyone and everyone willing to start is a nice beast, but what we risk here is someone taking a couple pretty pictures but not taking proper notes due to lack of understanding of what has to go to an article for it to be rock solid regarding neutrality and accuracy. For this reason, accreditation isn't handed out before such understanding is demonstrated on smaller tasks — synthesis articles and also optionally smaller instances of original reporting. (If you have a specific event in mind where accreditation is required to get in, please specify details so that someone could consider available means to get it reported here, perhaps with help from both you and local accredited Wikinewsies in the area.) --Gryllida 23:06, 9 September 2014 (UTC)
• Not at this time. 'Accomplishments' is intended to be a good-deal more specific than "i was someone who stands for the the communities in my region"; ideally, in contributing to the content on Wikinews. That's how the local community here would become comfortable in extending the trust granting accreditation is. --Brian McNeil / ^talk 21:51, 10 September 2014 (UTC)

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Microchip08 (talk)

Name: Douglas Gardner

Location: GBR

User ID: 21035

Applied on: 03:43, 4 July 2014 (UTC)

I'd like to reapply for accreditation; my previous accreditation from a couple of years ago has since elapsed. See also: Wikinews:Accreditation requests/Microchip08. Microchip08 (talk) 03:43, 4 July 2014 (UTC)

Closed by another Admin. as successful. --Bddpaux (talk) 02:28, 2 October 2014 (UTC)

Votes

• — This is the only person I'm familiar with who is requesting accreditation, so this is the only one I can vote on. I vote yes, reaccredit. — Gopher65_talk 02:31, 15 July 2014 (UTC)
• Support likewise. Thanks. Gryllida 04:14, 19 July 2014 (UTC)
• Support No worries. --Pi zero (talk) 04:32, 19 July 2014 (UTC)
• Support Hawkeye7 (talk) 21:13, 21 July 2014 (UTC)
• Support See no reason for not re-accreditation CSJJ104 (talk) 21:09, 9 August 2014 (UTC)

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Failed (lack of support). --Bddpaux (talk) 17:14, 2 September 2014 (UTC)

Xiandaniel07 (talk)

Name: Daniel Gabriel C. Prades

Location: Pangasinan, Philippines

Areas of interest: Modern Technologies

Reason: for me its an achivement to be part of something new adventure like wikipedia

Accomplishments: to be honest I am just a beginer in doing an actricles but I want to learn and share the things that I'm going to learn if I will be given a chance.

Contact information: xiandaniel07 gmail ● com or my mobile number +639174461448

User ID: 1331651

Applied on: 04:43, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

thank you

Comments

• I'm sorry, but I find you've only made one edit here at EN:WN, that being your request for accreditation. Is there anywhere else (particularly, beneath the Wikimedia "umbrella") where we might read some examples of your writing? Also, since you requested accreditation, back in early May, you've made no other edits. May I invite you to visit our Newsroom and potentially have a look around....? This is a news organization, bracketed inside a wiki, so that means nearly everything is highly community-oriented. If you find a typo or something like that in a pending article, fix it! If you have a question about policy etc., put it up over at the Water cooler. Let me know if I can help. --Bddpaux (talk) 22:06, 18 June 2014 (UTC)

Votes

• Oppose Haven't really found any examples of your writing, but would be willing to change my vote if I see something notable. --Bddpaux (talk) 16:01, 30 June 2014 (UTC)
• Not ready, per the above; I don't like opposing in such situation. --Gryllida 04:16, 19 July 2014 (UTC)

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Revocations

Remember: For requests for revoking credentials, "support" or "revoke" means "remove accreditation," and "oppose" or "keep" means "keep accreditation."

Please note that only accredited reporters who have misused their credentials granted to them (as can be proved through concrete evidence) may be listed here.