Candidates for ITN are evaluated on two main grounds: the quality of the updated content and the significance of the developments described in the updated content. In many cases, qualities in one area can make up for deficiencies in another. For example, a highly significant event, such as the discovery of a cure for cancer, may have a sub-par update associated with it, but be posted anyway with the assumption that other editors will soon join in and improve the article. Conversely, an editor may write an in-depth update on a topic normally considered marginal, thus convincing commentors that it is deserving of inclusion. A successful nomination will normally go through several procedural steps before being placed on the ITN template.
[edit] Updated content
Each blurb on ITN contains an emboldened link to an article for which cited updates have been provided. Changes in verb tense (e.g. "is" → "was") or updates that convey little or no new information beyond what is stated in the In the news blurb are insufficient. The decision as to when an item is updated 'enough' is subjective, but a five sentence update (with at minimum three references, not counting duplicates) has generally been considered more than sufficient, while a one sentence update is considered extremely questionable. In the case of new event-specific articles, the traditional cutoff for 'enough' has been around three complete, referenced and well-formed paragraphs.
Updated content must be thoroughly referenced. As with all Wikipedia articles, citations must be to reliable sources. While articles in topics such as sporting events and economics lend themselves to tables of numbers, updates must be at least in part written in prose to qualify for ITN consideration.
Articles that are subject to serious issues, as indicated by 'orange'- or 'red'-level article tags, will not normally be accepted for an emboldened link.
[edit] Significance
Unlike the TFA and Did you know sections of the Main Page, ITN rejects items deemed trivial. The criterion was previously written as "a story of international importance or interest". This standard is highly subjective and the focus of much of the disagreement over particular candidates. The most common form of opposition on this ground is that the news is "too local" and not of interest to people in the commenter's country of origin.
[edit] Procedural
- There is a sufficiently updated article, cited to credible sources.
- A blurb is listed at Portal:Current events or one of its subpages
- The item has been nominated at the candidates' page, with an emboldened link to the updated article (a freely licensed image to accompany the item may be suggested).
- If there is consensus to do so, the blurb will be added to Template:In the news
[edit] Deaths
The death must meet at least one of the following criteria:
- The deceased was in a high ranking office of power, and had a significant contribution/impact on the country/region.
- The deceased was a very important figure in their field of expertise, and was recognised as such.
- The death has a major international impact that affects current events. The modification or creation of multiple articles to take into account the ramifications of a death is a sign that it meets the third criterion.
In addition, the article needs to have at least a paragraph of prose about the person's death (in accordance with ITN updating criteria), and the article as a whole must be B-class and/or be satisfactorily filled out with no major omissions of the person's life and effect.
Deaths should not be added without a consensus at ITN/C and are recommended (but by no means must) to be listed at WP:LILP.
- For previous discussion about this criteria, see WP:ITN/DC.
[edit] Sports and other recurring events
Certain regularly recurring events are considered of sufficient interest to be placed on ITN every time they occur; they are listed at Wikipedia:Recurring items on ITN. Items listed there are considered exempt from having to prove their notability through discussion on the candidates page and may be posted as soon as a cited update is added to the article. Discussions on proposed inclusions and removals should take place on the talk page there.
The following templates are used to recognise articles and editors that have been involved in ITN. They also help to publicise the process and attract new contributors. Instructions can be found on each template's documentation. The following templates are used to credit the article creator and the article nominator as well as give notice on the article talk page that the article appeared on the Main Page:
- Article creator's talk page: ({{UpdatedITN}}) {{subst:UpdatedITN|8 September|2010|Article name|7=created|subst=subst:}} --~~~~
- Article updater's talk page: ({{UpdatedITN}}) {{subst:UpdatedITN|8 September|2010|Article name|7=substantially updated|subst=subst:}} --~~~~
- Nominator's talk page: ({{UpdatedITN}}) {{subst:UpdatedITN|8 September|2010|Article name|7=recently nominated|subst=subst:}} --~~~~
- Self-nomination: ({{UpdatedITN}}) {{subst:UpdatedITN|8 September|2010|Article name|7=recently nominated ''and'' substantially updated|subst=subst:}} --~~~~
- Article talk page: ({{ITNtalk}}) {{ITNtalk|8 September|2010}} (check if small style templates in use, if so add small=yes parm)
Note: No one possesses special authority to provide recognition. If you notice that an editor's contributions have not been recognized, please feel free to do so.
