Rod Blagojevich in Wikipedia History

Sometimes Wikipedians need to make room for all the information that is coming their way. "This town just ain't big enough for the two of us!" the gun slingers used to say to one another. Wiki can be like that.

You'll see a useful example of why some Wiki articles must spawn offspring when I show you the edit history behind the current media circus regarding the Illinois Governor. Wikipedia already had an article on Rod Blagojevich when news of a Federal investigation broke in the news. In fact, there was already a lengthy Controversies section in the governor's article.

The earliest edits to the Blagojevich article to mention the investigation were made soon after the news conference. After all, someone needed to add this important element to Blago's biography. Within hours, that article had a distinct corruption section. (Check out how furious the editing was taking place in the first 24 hours.)

But it was becoming clear that this was going to be a complex news story, so the next morning a wise Wikipedian created a wholly separate article just for the corruption scandal. In six hours, the corruption article had really begun to take shape as Wikipedians scoured the web for more details, by then citing seven good sources. After only twelve hours, the article had three times the detail and sourcing. Presently, the corruption article has multiple sections and sub-sections plus over 80 sources.

Note that the Blagojevich article has a temporary warning across the top of the page:

This article is related to a current event: Rod Blagojevich corruption charges.
Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

The corruption article also contains a temporary warning:

This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

These notices are to help remind you to edit the right article in such circumstances. If his biography needs to be modified, edit the article on him. If the scandal story needs updating, edit that article.

Image found at http://www.chicagomag.com/core/pagetools.php?pageid=7444&url=%2FChicago-Magazine%2FFebruary-2008%2FMr-Un-Popularity%2F&mode=print