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Here is the source in question: Trexler, Phil. Journalist Sues Cleveland Scene Over Firing, Akron Beacon Journal, June 2, 2009. Now, here are the problems with how this source is presented in this article:
In reviewing the lines in question and comparing them with the listed sources, I have to agree with JeffBillman`s grave BLP concerns. The only thing in this edit that is supported by the three sources ( [1], [2], [3]) is that Coughlin was sued by journalist James Renner. Everything else appears to be BLP-violating, highly slanted supposition written in a way to make Coughlin appear guilty of Renner's claims ... which I am sure is not coincidental since this content was added to the article by the same person suing Coughlin.
My BLP concerns are on pretty much everything after the first line. As an example, none of the sources mention anything about "illegally altered petition ballots." Likewise the edit states as fact that "Coughlin threatened to sue Scene Magazine if the story was ever published" when in actuality the sources indicate that this is nothing more than Renner's unsubstantiated claim. Worse yet, the final line "Coughlin later admitted that he never had any intention to sue the paper and that Renner's story was not defamatory" is not even hinted at by the sources, and gives me the impression that it was just made up to make Coughlin look bad. Speaking as an uninvolved admin, 90% or more of the disputed text appears to be moderate to severe BLP violations against an elected official. — Kralizec! ( talk) 02:22, 10 September 2009 (UTC)
(outdent)Having carefully reviewed the two reliable, third-party, published sources ( [6], [7]) given above, I have the following concerns:
This article is about Kevin Coughlin the public figure, and as per long standing policy, needs to consist only of properly sourced and cited content. This article is not about the various claims or allegations that have been made about Coughlin by every Tom, Dick, and Harry who have ever sued Coughlin.
Additionally, everyone involved in editing this article should note that as the concerns over the these issues have already been brought up at both WP:BLPN and WP:ANI, Wikipedia administrators will respond appropriately in defense of the Biography of living people and Edit warring policies. As an otherwise un-involved admin, I have added the article to my watchlist so that I may more closely monitor the situation and react accordingly. — Kralizec! ( talk) 20:42, 20 September 2009 (UTC)
I've edited the main article. It is now unbiased and well-sourced. I think we can move on. " 174.100.25.47 ( talk) 17:23, 22 September 2009 (UTC)"
Let me see if I can give you a better explanation of the various policies at work here and why the text you're adding is a problem.
You've said things like "The way I read BLP, this is acceptable." What Kralizec! and I have been trying to explain is that the way you are reading BLP, especially since there are many other policies you need to consider, is not correct. I understand that Wikipedia's policies can be very confusing and almost a maze to navigate at times, which is why experienced editors will often offer advice on whether or not material meets those policies - you're also welcome to read the policies for yourself or even use related noticeboards to get additional opinions. One thing that you cannot do is continue to edit war and try to force your material in the article. This will only lead to restrictions on your editing. If you have further concerns and would like more opinions than already provided to you on this page, then lets do that. I'd be happy to explain any facet of dispute resolution on Wikipedia that you have questions about. Shell babelfish 23:15, 22 September 2009 (UTC)
Improperly sourced content has again been added to the article [9], and was reverted. The reasons are as follows:
As BLP-violations have been reverted from the article four times now, I am strongly considering re-protecting the article. — Kralizec! ( talk) 16:35, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
Kralizec, it's apparent to me you are not even reading the sourced information. The second source is not a personal blog of mine. It is the Columbus Dispatch, the daily newspaper of the Columbus region. " JamesRenner ( talk) 19:16, 24 September 2009 (UTC)"
My apologies on the Tallmadge Express link. It actually should have been linked to this article, which appeared in the Beacon Journal:[ http://www.ohio.com/news/14019487.html] " JamesRenner ( talk) 19:17, 24 September 2009 (UTC)"
Can an unbiased third party take a look at the sources presented here and help with a neutral edit of the facts surrounding Coughlin's lawsuit and alleged affairs? " JamesRenner ( talk) 22:23, 24 September 2009 (UTC)"
This entire article is a POV mess. Did Mr. Coughlin's campaign staff write this? Where are the reliable sources for all of the claims? Who then was a gentleman? ( talk) 01:01, 25 September 2009 (UTC)
{{
editprotected}}
I kindly ask that the article be stubbed so that it can be rebuilt in a very NPOV way using only WP:RS. I would be happy to begin this process.
Basket of Puppies
02:55, 25 September 2009 (UTC)
The protection level on the article has been dropped from full to semi. Please note that as this issue has already been to AN/I twice and BLP/N once, any insertion of un-sourced BLP-violating text may result in blocking and/or resumption of full protection on the article. — Kralizec! ( talk) 14:50, 25 September 2009 (UTC)
Kevin Coughlin. Over the years there appears to have been a war of insertion and deletion of un-sourced BLP-violating text on this page.
Specifically: "A 2008 Cleveland Independent article alleging that Coughlin had an extra-marital affair with a staffer, at times taking her to Ohio State football games using money from his campaign accounts. The article also revealed that the Summit County Sheriff's Office was investigating Coughlin for allegedly altering petition ballots [7]" Clicking the citation reveals that no such source exists. This should be removed and blocked from being re-published.
In addition: "Coughlin threatened to sue the author, but the author sued him, eventually dropping the charges.[8]" The article linked to this statement does not, in fact, report that Coughlin threatened to sue the author. It says that the plaintiff and his attorney accused Coughlin of the threatening legal action. Big difference and not portrayed factually on the Wiki page. Again,, this should be removed and blocked from being republished.
It appears that attempts to correct this type of violation in the past have been corrected by Wiki administrators. However, the items listed above continue to be an issue. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tombraider44303 ( talk • contribs) 19:05, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
This article has been revised as part of
a large-scale clean-up project of multiple article copyright infringement. (See
the investigation subpage) Earlier text must not be restored, unless it can be verified to be free of infringement. For legal reasons, Wikipedia cannot accept
copyrighted text or images borrowed from other web sites or printed material; such additions must be deleted. Contributors may use sources as a source of information, but not as a source of sentences or phrases. Accordingly, the material may be rewritten, but only if it does not infringe on the copyright of the original or
plagiarize from that source. Please see our
guideline on non-free text for how to properly implement limited quotations of copyrighted text. Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously. --
VWBot (
talk)
12:19, 12 November 2010 (UTC)
A user, User_Talk:Coughlinohio, whose only edits seem to be removing Kevin Coughlin's controversy section, keeps removing Kevin Coughlin's controversy section. (ex. [14]). Should something be done about this? Lazylaces ( Talk to me) 21:01, 10 March 2016 (UTC)
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Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot ( Report bug) 02:55, 23 March 2017 (UTC)
Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified a section on [[Kevin Coughlin]: Coughlin's attorney threatened to sue the author of an intended Cleveland Scene article alleging an extra-marital affair. Scene fired the employee, who later filed a wrongly termination suit against the publisher, also naming Coughlin as a defendant. The Coughlin was later dismissed from the case.[7]
Removed: archive https://web.archive.org/web/20130815194518/http://www.clevelandindependent.com/2009/07/06/the-real-kevin-coughlin/ to http://www.clevelandindependent.com/2009/07/06/the-real-kevin-coughlin/ because it was false and landed on a blank page.
Sticking with the Beacon Journal article for this seems to provide an actual source and keeps the facts accurate.
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Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified a section on [[Kevin Coughlin] to change author to publisher and include Coughlin's response to the allegation from the article. [7]
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This article must adhere to the biographies of living persons (BLP) policy, even if it is not a biography, because it contains material about living persons. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libellous. If such material is repeatedly inserted, or if you have other concerns, please report the issue to this noticeboard.If you are a subject of this article, or acting on behalf of one, and you need help, please see this help page. |
![]() | This article is rated Stub-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Here is the source in question: Trexler, Phil. Journalist Sues Cleveland Scene Over Firing, Akron Beacon Journal, June 2, 2009. Now, here are the problems with how this source is presented in this article:
In reviewing the lines in question and comparing them with the listed sources, I have to agree with JeffBillman`s grave BLP concerns. The only thing in this edit that is supported by the three sources ( [1], [2], [3]) is that Coughlin was sued by journalist James Renner. Everything else appears to be BLP-violating, highly slanted supposition written in a way to make Coughlin appear guilty of Renner's claims ... which I am sure is not coincidental since this content was added to the article by the same person suing Coughlin.
My BLP concerns are on pretty much everything after the first line. As an example, none of the sources mention anything about "illegally altered petition ballots." Likewise the edit states as fact that "Coughlin threatened to sue Scene Magazine if the story was ever published" when in actuality the sources indicate that this is nothing more than Renner's unsubstantiated claim. Worse yet, the final line "Coughlin later admitted that he never had any intention to sue the paper and that Renner's story was not defamatory" is not even hinted at by the sources, and gives me the impression that it was just made up to make Coughlin look bad. Speaking as an uninvolved admin, 90% or more of the disputed text appears to be moderate to severe BLP violations against an elected official. — Kralizec! ( talk) 02:22, 10 September 2009 (UTC)
(outdent)Having carefully reviewed the two reliable, third-party, published sources ( [6], [7]) given above, I have the following concerns:
This article is about Kevin Coughlin the public figure, and as per long standing policy, needs to consist only of properly sourced and cited content. This article is not about the various claims or allegations that have been made about Coughlin by every Tom, Dick, and Harry who have ever sued Coughlin.
Additionally, everyone involved in editing this article should note that as the concerns over the these issues have already been brought up at both WP:BLPN and WP:ANI, Wikipedia administrators will respond appropriately in defense of the Biography of living people and Edit warring policies. As an otherwise un-involved admin, I have added the article to my watchlist so that I may more closely monitor the situation and react accordingly. — Kralizec! ( talk) 20:42, 20 September 2009 (UTC)
I've edited the main article. It is now unbiased and well-sourced. I think we can move on. " 174.100.25.47 ( talk) 17:23, 22 September 2009 (UTC)"
Let me see if I can give you a better explanation of the various policies at work here and why the text you're adding is a problem.
You've said things like "The way I read BLP, this is acceptable." What Kralizec! and I have been trying to explain is that the way you are reading BLP, especially since there are many other policies you need to consider, is not correct. I understand that Wikipedia's policies can be very confusing and almost a maze to navigate at times, which is why experienced editors will often offer advice on whether or not material meets those policies - you're also welcome to read the policies for yourself or even use related noticeboards to get additional opinions. One thing that you cannot do is continue to edit war and try to force your material in the article. This will only lead to restrictions on your editing. If you have further concerns and would like more opinions than already provided to you on this page, then lets do that. I'd be happy to explain any facet of dispute resolution on Wikipedia that you have questions about. Shell babelfish 23:15, 22 September 2009 (UTC)
Improperly sourced content has again been added to the article [9], and was reverted. The reasons are as follows:
As BLP-violations have been reverted from the article four times now, I am strongly considering re-protecting the article. — Kralizec! ( talk) 16:35, 24 September 2009 (UTC)
Kralizec, it's apparent to me you are not even reading the sourced information. The second source is not a personal blog of mine. It is the Columbus Dispatch, the daily newspaper of the Columbus region. " JamesRenner ( talk) 19:16, 24 September 2009 (UTC)"
My apologies on the Tallmadge Express link. It actually should have been linked to this article, which appeared in the Beacon Journal:[ http://www.ohio.com/news/14019487.html] " JamesRenner ( talk) 19:17, 24 September 2009 (UTC)"
Can an unbiased third party take a look at the sources presented here and help with a neutral edit of the facts surrounding Coughlin's lawsuit and alleged affairs? " JamesRenner ( talk) 22:23, 24 September 2009 (UTC)"
This entire article is a POV mess. Did Mr. Coughlin's campaign staff write this? Where are the reliable sources for all of the claims? Who then was a gentleman? ( talk) 01:01, 25 September 2009 (UTC)
{{
editprotected}}
I kindly ask that the article be stubbed so that it can be rebuilt in a very NPOV way using only WP:RS. I would be happy to begin this process.
Basket of Puppies
02:55, 25 September 2009 (UTC)
The protection level on the article has been dropped from full to semi. Please note that as this issue has already been to AN/I twice and BLP/N once, any insertion of un-sourced BLP-violating text may result in blocking and/or resumption of full protection on the article. — Kralizec! ( talk) 14:50, 25 September 2009 (UTC)
Kevin Coughlin. Over the years there appears to have been a war of insertion and deletion of un-sourced BLP-violating text on this page.
Specifically: "A 2008 Cleveland Independent article alleging that Coughlin had an extra-marital affair with a staffer, at times taking her to Ohio State football games using money from his campaign accounts. The article also revealed that the Summit County Sheriff's Office was investigating Coughlin for allegedly altering petition ballots [7]" Clicking the citation reveals that no such source exists. This should be removed and blocked from being re-published.
In addition: "Coughlin threatened to sue the author, but the author sued him, eventually dropping the charges.[8]" The article linked to this statement does not, in fact, report that Coughlin threatened to sue the author. It says that the plaintiff and his attorney accused Coughlin of the threatening legal action. Big difference and not portrayed factually on the Wiki page. Again,, this should be removed and blocked from being republished.
It appears that attempts to correct this type of violation in the past have been corrected by Wiki administrators. However, the items listed above continue to be an issue. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tombraider44303 ( talk • contribs) 19:05, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
This article has been revised as part of
a large-scale clean-up project of multiple article copyright infringement. (See
the investigation subpage) Earlier text must not be restored, unless it can be verified to be free of infringement. For legal reasons, Wikipedia cannot accept
copyrighted text or images borrowed from other web sites or printed material; such additions must be deleted. Contributors may use sources as a source of information, but not as a source of sentences or phrases. Accordingly, the material may be rewritten, but only if it does not infringe on the copyright of the original or
plagiarize from that source. Please see our
guideline on non-free text for how to properly implement limited quotations of copyrighted text. Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously. --
VWBot (
talk)
12:19, 12 November 2010 (UTC)
A user, User_Talk:Coughlinohio, whose only edits seem to be removing Kevin Coughlin's controversy section, keeps removing Kevin Coughlin's controversy section. (ex. [14]). Should something be done about this? Lazylaces ( Talk to me) 21:01, 10 March 2016 (UTC)
Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified 2 external links on Kevin Coughlin. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
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Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot ( Report bug) 02:55, 23 March 2017 (UTC)
Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified a section on [[Kevin Coughlin]: Coughlin's attorney threatened to sue the author of an intended Cleveland Scene article alleging an extra-marital affair. Scene fired the employee, who later filed a wrongly termination suit against the publisher, also naming Coughlin as a defendant. The Coughlin was later dismissed from the case.[7]
Removed: archive https://web.archive.org/web/20130815194518/http://www.clevelandindependent.com/2009/07/06/the-real-kevin-coughlin/ to http://www.clevelandindependent.com/2009/07/06/the-real-kevin-coughlin/ because it was false and landed on a blank page.
Sticking with the Beacon Journal article for this seems to provide an actual source and keeps the facts accurate.
This message was posted before February 2018.
After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than
regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors
have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the
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Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified a section on [[Kevin Coughlin] to change author to publisher and include Coughlin's response to the allegation from the article. [7]
This message was posted before February 2018.
After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than
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Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot ( Report bug) 07:48, 9 December 2017 (UTC)