Speaking as a Wikipedia editor (hi Pete :-) ), I don’t think the reasoning behind what gets included on the front page, especially the “In the News” section, is particularly intuitive to the general public. For example, when comedian and social activist Dick Gregory died just over a year ago, it seemed clear to me and some other editors that he should be listed in the Recent Deaths section. But the nomination ultimately failed because the article did not have enough references. I’d added several myself and also posted at WikiProject African Diaspora asking for more help, but it wasn’t enough to get the article listed.
The day after Dick Gregory died, another celebrity, Jerry Lewis, passed on. His Recent Death nomination succeeded. Now, strictly speaking this was (supposed to be) purely a matter of the quality of the article, without any consideration of race; the instructions state that “the nomination of any individual human, animal or other biological organism with a standalone Wikipedia article whose recent death is in the news is presumed to be important enough to post. Discussion should focus only on the quality of the article.” But it sure didn’t look right to have Lewis included and Gregory excluded under the circumstances.
