As media conglomerates become more powerful and national newspapers continue to suffer, many amateur reporters are taking journalism into their own hands - online.
Despite criticism about its credibility, Wikipedia remains the most widely read online encyclopedia. Since it was launched in 2001, the site has accumulated more than 8 million articles with thousands of anonymous contributors.
Though the writing-base expands across the nation, several members of the GW community also contribute frequently. Some call it an experiment in journalism, while others remain skeptical about the site's credibility.
"Getting out good information so people can read it and learn more about whatever it is, that's a pretty cool thing," said Andrew Wiseman, a 2002 GW graduate and frequent contributor to the site. On his Wikipedia profile, he lists some of his current tasks: "Patrolling Akon and Go go," "Cleanup Asshole (game)," and "Patrolling and cleaning up Beer pong and other similar articles."
"I (also) like to be able to read about all this random stuff, things I didn't know that much about before," Wiseman said.
His geography major at GW influenced some of his contributions, he said. On the GW Wikipedia page, he inserted a satellite image of Foggy Bottom. Wiseman, who now creates maps for the D.C. government and operates the GW basketball blog Colonialhoops.com, said Wikipedia is truly a community effort.
"I start a skeleton of the article, maybe a couple of paragraphs, and hopefully someone else will take it from there and flesh it out," he said.
Representative for the site reflected this emphasis on community, rather than having an administrative hierarchy.
"We don't get involved with the editorial process. Our six full-time employees just deal with administration," said Sandra Ordonez, Wikipedia's communication manager. "Every language version of Wikipedia is entirely self-governing."
Although Wikipedia is often used as an informal resource, some GW professors have put it to use in the classroom.
Despite criticism about its credibility, Wikipedia remains the most widely read online encyclopedia. Since it was launched in 2001, the site has accumulated more than 8 million articles with thousands of anonymous contributors.
Though the writing-base expands across the nation, several members of the GW community also contribute frequently. Some call it an experiment in journalism, while others remain skeptical about the site's credibility.
"Getting out good information so people can read it and learn more about whatever it is, that's a pretty cool thing," said Andrew Wiseman, a 2002 GW graduate and frequent contributor to the site. On his Wikipedia profile, he lists some of his current tasks: "Patrolling Akon and Go go," "Cleanup Asshole (game)," and "Patrolling and cleaning up Beer pong and other similar articles."
"I (also) like to be able to read about all this random stuff, things I didn't know that much about before," Wiseman said.
His geography major at GW influenced some of his contributions, he said. On the GW Wikipedia page, he inserted a satellite image of Foggy Bottom. Wiseman, who now creates maps for the D.C. government and operates the GW basketball blog Colonialhoops.com, said Wikipedia is truly a community effort.
"I start a skeleton of the article, maybe a couple of paragraphs, and hopefully someone else will take it from there and flesh it out," he said.
Representative for the site reflected this emphasis on community, rather than having an administrative hierarchy.
"We don't get involved with the editorial process. Our six full-time employees just deal with administration," said Sandra Ordonez, Wikipedia's communication manager. "Every language version of Wikipedia is entirely self-governing."
Although Wikipedia is often used as an informal resource, some GW professors have put it to use in the classroom.
