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The main page is an ever-changing portal that shows off Wikipedia's best content. Everyday it features a different article, picture, historical fact or interesting fact. However, one section, the "In The News" section, does not change at the same rate as the other sections. In fact, it barely changes at all. For example, the above picture of Paraguayan president-elect Fernando Lugo has been on the main page continuously since April 20. Stale news items like this do not show off the best that Wikipedia has to offer, and do not to service to our most widely-visited page.
Wikipedia is of course an encyclopedia, not a news service. This is an important thing to remember when discussing ITN. However, today's news is tomorrow's history, and Wikipedia, unlike a print encyclopedia, can change to reflect current events. When something newsworthy happens, editors flock to Wikipedia to update pages accordingly. We should encourage this as much as possible, and make it easier for editors old and new to link to current-event articles. The current ITN does not do this well enough, and we must reform it along the following lines:
- Diversity — ITN should feature news items from an array of different subjects. This will help us attract a wide variety of readers and editors
- Timeliness — ITN should constantly change to reflect the latest happenings. We should amend ongoing news stories to reflect the latest developments.
- Openness — ITN should be more accepting of suggestions. We should broaden the current ITN criteria to increase both volume and diversity.
- Volume — ITN should feature a much larger number of news items. This will keep the top right corner of the main page from getting too "stale", especially compared to the other sections.
"In The News" has the potential to be one of Wikipedia's greatest innovations. As a new media encyclopedia, we have the opportunity to create a definitive reference work that stays definitive as the world changes.
What do you think? Please leave your feedback on the talk page. With your help, we can make ITN great.