Wonder why Wikipedia is still showing Joe Paterno as deceased?

[Loudly]

Not sure what their standards are for retractions of the deaths of notable persons.

I do remember seeing a legend in some articles that the topic in question is the subject of unfolding events, and that facts cited in the article are somewhat fluid.

But I have always considered Wikipedia authoritative about the fact that someone has died.

[Brickbat]

1. Wikipedia gets it right once in awhile.

He's dead.

[Broderick]

2. He did die

[Ecumenist]

3. Um, Cuz he's dead?

Might be the reason..

[tammywammy]

4. Because he is dead n/t

[Gold Metal Flake]

5. What is your point?

[zbdent]

6. in an unrelated note ... Generalissimo Francisco Franco is STILL DEAD ...

[pinboy3niner]

13. The news was impossible to miss...

[Broderick]

17. LOL

I miss that lineup.

[Aerows]

42. That is hilarious

I needed a good laugh

[hifiguy]

7. Paterno is dead.

He passed away yesterday.

[Liberal Veteran]

12. Well, he's...he's, ah...probably pining for the fjords.

[TlalocW]

8. No, he's not. He's just restin'.

Beautiful plumage, eh?

TlalocW

[baldguy]

20. Pining for the fjords?

Are there fjords in Pennsylvania?

[HopeHoops]

9. He shit the bed. Wiki is correct.

[meegbear]

10. He's pining for the fjords

[Liberal Veteran]

15. Crap. You beat me to it by seconds.

[sufrommich]

11. He's dead,Jim. nt

[Motown_Johnny]

14. he doesn't rise again until the third day

[AngryAmish]

16. You win the internet today...go have a nice cool drink.

[liberal_biker]

18. Because he's still dead?

Just a thought...

[jberryhill]

19. Because he is still dead

[kestrel91316]

23. Dee Kelly was a very nice man. I met him a few times.

Totally OT, I know.

He was very small, too. Not much taller or heavier than me (I am 5'4" and 125 lb).

[arcane1]

21. To be honest, that question never crossed my mind

[pinboy3niner]

22. While you're there, what are they saying about Merle Haggard?

[Loudly]

26. No date of death listed for Mr. Haggard.

[pinboy3niner]

44. ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002184981

[Loudly]

48. That would be an example of Wikipedia serving as a more reliable source.

[thelordofhell]

24. Because he's not just merely dead

He's really, most sincerely dead

[pinboy3niner]

27. :)

[phylny]

47. !

[Douglas Carpenter]

25. Are you suggesting he is risen from the dead?

[Loudly]

28. Just confused by reports on NYTimes and Huffpost and NPR that the story was false.

People here seem to be fairly unanimous, though.

Nice to know Wikipedia can still be my "go to" for such info.

[arcane1]

29. Any links?

The front page at Huffpo says "Joe Paterno dead at 85"

[Viking12]

32. There were numerous premature reports on Saturday.

Many of those outlets retracted/corrected their original reports. Then Paterno actual did die a few hours later leading to confusion.

[Loudly]

34. Drill down.

When I view the HuffPost article, it says UPDATED: family denies etc.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/21/joe-paterno-dead-ex-penn-state-football-coach_n_1221289.html?ref=mostpopular

And then I see this in NYTimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/business/media/premature-reports-of-joe-paternos-death-roiled-web.html

[pinboy3niner]

31. Here's the scoop:

Initial reports of his death were wrong--but later (within a day, I think) he actually DID die, for real.

You may have missed that later, accurate report of his death.

[Loudly]

35. So, The Reports of My Death Are Only Slightly Exaggerated

[muriel_volestrangler]

40. Pro-tip: Wikipedia articles normally have hyperlinks

which document what they say. So, for instance, you see that it refers to CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/22/us/pennsylvania-obit-paterno/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 and ESPN: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7489238/joe-paterno-ex-penn-state-nittany-lions-coach-dies-85-2-month-cancer-fight . It even tells you when this information was accessed - on the 22nd Jan. That way, you can see that Wikipedia is reporting a widely-known news story, without having to ask DU.

[Loudly]

43. Thanks Muriel. And thank you too DU. Especially for the laughs.

[Lint Head]

30. Is it the third day yet?

[Nye Bevan]

33. Don't know. It's simply baffling (nt)

[pinboy3niner]

36. You can't explain that!

--Bill O'Reilly

[savalez]

41. yeah!

[grantcart]

37. What about Generalissimo Franco?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General%C3%ADssimo_Francisco_Franco_is_still_dead

The death of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco during the first season of NBC's Saturday Night served as the source of the phrase. Franco lingered near death for weeks before dying. On slow news days, United States network television newscasters sometimes noted that Franco was still alive, or not yet dead. The imminent death of Franco was a headline story on the NBC news for a number of weeks prior to his death on November 20.

After Franco's death, Chevy Chase, reader of the news on NBC's Saturday Night's comedic news segment Weekend Update, announced the dictator's death and read a quotation from Richard Nixon: "General Franco was a loyal friend and ally of the United States. He earned worldwide respect for Spain through firmness and fairness";[2] as an ironic counterpoint to this, a picture was displayed behind Chase, showing Franco giving the fascist salute alongside Adolf Hitler.[3]

In subsequent weeks Chase developed the joke into a parody of the earlier news coverage of Franco's illness, treating his death as the top story. "This breaking news just in", Chase would announce - "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead!"[4] Occasionally, Chase would change the wording slightly in order to keep the joke fresh, e.g. "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still valiantly holding on in his fight to remain dead."[5] The joke was sometimes combined with another running gag in which, rather than having a sign language interpreter visually presenting the news to aid the deaf, the show would provide assistance from Garrett Morris, "head of the New York School for the Hard of Hearing", whose "aid" involved cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting the news as Chase read it. The gag ran until early 1977.

The line was perceived as a slap at NBC Nightly News main anchor John Chancellor[citation needed], who due to his background as a foreign correspondent, felt the network should weigh its news more heavily toward world events, and had kept Franco's deathwatch at the top of the headlines.

[pinboy3niner]

39. Still dead. At least, according to one usually reliable source:

[pansypoo53219]

46. what about the veggie israeli dude? is he still alive?

abe vigoda? i bet his death makes a splash.

[malthaussen]

38. Not only has he ceased to pee...

... he wouldn't vroom if you put ten million volts through him.

-- Mal

[MineralMan]

45. Probably because he died.