Google News is experimenting with displaying links to Wikipedia articles in the list of sources on some of its stories. The news comes only a month after Google CEO Eric Schmidt criticised newspapers for failing to make a profit from online distribution, advising them to take inspiration from user-generated sites such as Wikipedia.
Many in the search community question the wisdom of including Wikipedia entries alongside news stories, arguing that the collaboratively-edited information is unreliable. Some also object that readers will click the Wikipedia link instead of reading the original news story.
However, Zachary Seward from the Nieman Journalism Lab describes the move as "potentially crucial" in the development of news presentation. He defends the idea, using the example of a Wikipedia entry for Air France Flight 447. He says "there is no single page on the Internet with a more thorough, helpful, or informative synopsis of the crash."
The idea is still in its trial stage, and Google spokesman Gabriel Stricker says there are currently only a "small number of users" able to view the links to Wikipedia.
StrategyEye's related categories: Search - Web, News Aggregators & RSS, Online Collaboration
StrategyEye's related companies: Google, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
