Wikipedia:America's Top Newspapers Use Wikipedia

The following is a list of America's 50 most popular daily newspapers based on circulation data filed with the Audit Bureau of Circulations during a period ending March 31, 2005. If the newspaper has ever cited Wikipedia, one instance of usage is documented below the title. This is a modest list as only one instance of possibly dozens is listed and citations are defined as direct quotes from our text or explicit identification of Wikipedia as a source. Even if a newspaper links a Wikipedia article within the text and appears to draw from one of our entry, this use will not count as a citation unless Wikipedia's role as a source is explicitly confirmed. Only an article originally produced for the newspaper should be listed as an example.

1. USA Today

  • "Iran looks, again, to 'experienced captain'" (February 7, 2005): "Sources: CIA World Factbook; U. S. Department of State; Library of Congress; Wikipedia; USA TODAY research"

2. Wall Street Journal

  • "Sean Connery Delivers A Line That Eventually Sparks an Internet Fad." (November 7, 2005): "Wikipedia's YTMND entry monitors the site's fads, treating the subject with near Talmudic exactitude as it chronicles the changes."

3. New York Times

  • "Keeping Secrets" (January 16, 2005): "Wikipedia.com, an online encyclopedia, says the order's alumni include David Stern, commissioner of the National Basketball Association, and William J. Hughes, former congressman and ambassador to Panama."

4. Los Angeles Times

  • "Blueblood Named Bill Is in Line to Be Called Earl" (July 25, 2005): "According to Burke's and Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, Frederick succeeded his father, Robert Capell, the 10th Earl, who died in June."

5. Washington Post

  • "The Comparison That Ends the Conversation" (June 22, 2005): "According to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, 'There is a tradition in many Usenet newsgroups that once such a comparison is made, the thread is over, and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically lost whatever argument was in progress.'"

6. Daily News (New York)

7. New York Post

8. Chicago Tribune

  • "Vair ball" (August 7, 2005): "Sources: General Motors, Wikipedia"

9. Houston Chronicle

  • "Trend; Consumers gulp high-tech drinks; Beverages energize the industry" (August 25, 2004): "Taurine, according to wikipedia.com, is this: 'In human metabolism it has two major roles: It is a neurotransmitter inhibitor and plays a role in the digestion (see bile). It has been linked to a number of other metabolic functions, but its use is not clear.'"

10. Dallas Morning News

  • "The battle for your inbox" (August 14, 2005): "SOURCE: Wikipedia.org"

11. Newsday

  • "Done in by a drenching" (July 11, 2005): "SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA. ORG, ACCUWEATHER.COM, NEWS SERVICES"

12. Arizona Republic

  • "All In - Pros Raking Up as Amateurs Come T Poker Table" (October 1, 2004): Poker spread as quickly as its variations, from wild card (around 1875, according to Wikipedia.com), to lowball and split-pots that became common around the turn of the 20th century."

13. San Francisco Chronicle

  • "99 ways to get respect" (July 24, 2005): "Sources: www.gbc.net;www.clarkstravelcenter.com; en.wikipedia.org; www.viamagazine.com;www.answers.com; Caltrans; Great Valley Center, Modesto"

14. Boston Globe

  • "Top Advisor Tapped for Education Post" (November 18, 2004): "SOURCE:Associated Press, Wikipedia"
  • Website turns tables on government officials, Hiawatha Bray, The Boston Globe, July 4, 2003. About the Government Information Awareness project, mentions Wikipedia in comparison as the "best known wiki site".

15. Chicago Sun-Times

  • "Kitano makes venerable 'Zatoichi' his own" (August 6, 2004): "An expert entry in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia says he has also published more than 50 books of poetry, film criticism and fiction, and is also a game show host (one of his shows, retitled "MXC," plays on Spike TV)." (Roger Ebert)

16. Atlanta Journal-Constitution

  • "UPS to use fuel-cell vehicles in three cities" (August 27, 2004): "Source: Wikipedia, Ballard Power Systems"

17. Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey)

  • "His next stop: Space" (July 31, 2005): "SOURCES: National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Wikipedia; European Space Agency"

18. Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

  • "Wisconsin shootings kill 5" (November 22, 2004): "Source: Wikipedia.org"

19. Detroit Free Press

  • "Detroit Free Press cars column" (July 7, 2005): "Sources: Free Press research , "Iacocca: An Autobiography," Wikipedia.com."

20. Philadelphia Inquirer

  • "Tsunami brought truce but no hope for peace in Aceh" (January 15, 2005): "SOURCES: Wikipedia, Federation of American Scientists, Congressional Research Service"

21. Plain Dealer (Cleavland)

  • "Harry Potter on the big screen" (July 15, 2005): "Sources: Scholastic Inc.; Box Office Guru; Internet Movie Database, www.imdb.com; Los Angeles Times Research; www.wikipedia.com; Publishers Weekly; www.biography.com; Cox News Service; J. K. Rowling’s official Web site, www.jkrowling.com.

22. St. Petersburg Times (Florida)

  • "Bach in time: a 'new' aria" (June 9, 2005): "Source: Wikipedia.com"

23. The Oregonian (Portland)

  • "Game On" (August 15, 2005): "According to Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, "pwn" probably originated as a typo for "own," which means to dominate an opponent."

24. Denver Post

  • "TV ``Rebel joins reality race Fox, Branson take flight" (November 8, 2004): "According to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, 'Branson is keen on playful antagonisms, exemplified by his 'Mine is bigger than yours' decals on the new Airbus A340-600 jets used by his airline.'"

25. Rocky Mountain News

  • "Shadows of Doubt" (June 4, 2005): "Source: American Historical Association, Wikipedia, Southampton Institute Handbook"

26. St. Louis Post-Dispatch

  • "Pope acts as global conscience Over the centuries, pontiffs have used their power to effect change in the church and in the world." (April 17, 2005): "SOURCE: Politikens Visual Guide on Rome, Guardian, Romeguide, Wikipedia, Rome tourist office, Aarhus University, German Catholic News Agency, " Conclave" by John L. Allen Jr., The Vatican, " Selecting the Pope" by Greg Tobin, " Eyewitness Travel Guide: Rome," The Holy See ( Vatican), Reuters, Corriere della Sera, Catholic German"

27. San Diego Union-Tribune

  • "Lobbying effort" (August 30, 2004): "According to the encyclopedia Wikipedia, the pitch was named by Maurice van Robays, a former Pirates outfielder."

28. Miami Herald


29. Sacramento Bee

  • "Some training wheels for wannabe bicycle fans" (July 9, 2005): "The winner of the jerseys each day receives three of them, according to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia."

30. Sun (Baltimore)

  • "Daisy Dukes should be cut out of women's wardrobes" (August 5, 2005): "According to Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, her sexy shorts created a nationwide craze."

31. Orange County Register

  • "Oxley gored" (July 13, 2005): "The legislation was supposed to "to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures," according to the Wikipedia encyclopedia, by establishing accounting oversight, independent auditing and more financial disclosure."

32. Kansas City Star

  • "Thumbing through the Hitchhiker series" (May 4, 2005): "According to www.wikipedia.org, 'Many consider the books' versions of events to be definitive, because they are the final versions Adams produced (and also the most readily accessible).'"

33. San Jose Mercury News

  • "FBI sting busts piracy net" (June 30, 2005): "Warez is pronounced 'wares' and comes from the word 'software,' according to the Internet dictionary Wikipedia."

34. Detroit News

  • "A historical perspective" (August 14, 2005): "Sources: U. S. Environmental Protection Agency; Wikipedia Encyclopedia; Michigan Natural Resources Magazine: A Tribute To The Great Lakes: May-June 1986: Big Boats For Big Lakes: Jacques LeeStrang"

35. Times-Picayune (New Orleans)

  • "Local film students have hit on hands" (June 26, 2005): "The title, 'Dragostea Din Tei,' loosely translates into 'Love Among the Linden Trees,' according to the Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia."

36. Indianapolis Star

  • "Closing the book on these publications" (July 31, 2005): "Sources: About.com, Wikipedia, Center for Media & Democracy, CBSNews.com, USAToday.com, The New York Post."

37. Orlando Sentinel

  • "More about Escher" (August 12, 2005): "SOURCES: mcescher.com, wikipedia.com and artchive.com"

38. Columbus Dispatch

  • "Ohio Mileposts Nov. 11, 1981 " (November 11, 2003): "Sources: www.chinfo.navy.mil, www.ohio.navy.mil, www.bowfin.org, www.wikipedia.org"

39. South Florida Sun-Sentinel

40. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

41. San Antonio Express-News

42. Tampa Tribune

43. Boston Herald

44. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

45. Fort Worth Star-Telegram

46. Seattle Times

47. Charlotte Observer

48. Courier-Journal (Louisville)

49. Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City)

50. Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk)