Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Malcolm Derk


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was  Keep (NAC). RMHED  20:00, 16 October 2009 (UTC)

Malcolm Derk

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Non-notable local/regional politician. Has not held 1st tier state office. Fails WP:POLITICIAN. Crafty (talk) 06:32, 2 October 2009 (UTC)

This person clearly passes the criterion set forth by: "Major local political figures who have received significant press coverage ….” There are dozens of articles detailing choices made by Mr. Derk in the Daily Item, Snyder County Times, Shamokin News Item, Danville News, etc..  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.97.10.132 (talk) 11:36, 3 October 2009 (UTC)
 * I would dispute the siginificance of that press coverage. Crafty (talk) 20:35, 4 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Coverage seems pretty insignificant from small local sources, or with Derk as spokesman for the Board, or about a particular bailout incident, or all three. Not notable enough for me. Rd232 talk 12:33, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

When I created this page, I looked at Malcolm Derk's significance as an elected leader. County Commissioners are the top elected officials in the county and control the county's budget. I would argue that they are just as important (if not more important) as state representatives and city council members. The number of people they represent is comparable to city council members. Most importantly, the Sunbury Daily Item is the only major newspaper in the Central Susquehanna Valley. It is the only paper that covers the counties of Snyder, Montour, Union, and Northumberland on a regular basis. There are no other daily newspapers that cover this area- only small, weekly, regional newspapers. WKOK- which I cited numerous times- is also the sole major radio station for area news. As you can see, Malcolm Derk has received consistent coverage in both of these outlets. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Crackerjack2009 (talk • contribs) 17:52, 6 October 2009 (UTC)  Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Ron Ritzman (talk) 00:16, 9 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so consensus may be reached.

 Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Cirt (talk) 18:13, 15 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Politicians-related deletion discussions.  -- Ron Ritzman (talk) 00:17, 9 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Keep as a member of a county legislature easily meeting WP:POLITICIAN section 2. Members of county legislatures generally meet the level required, and while not actually arguing WP:OTHERSTUFFEXISTS, consensus is apparent through a quick look at Category:County Legislators in New York or Category:New Jersey County Freeholders or any of the other individuals under Category:Leaders of counties in the United States.  Jim Miller  See me 15:15, 9 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Keep - per Miller's comments Dincher (talk) 17:53, 9 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so consensus may be reached.


 * Weak keep. JimMillerJr does have a point, however the sources are very small local sources and seem quite weak. I'm not sure it quite works for #2 at WP:POLITICIAN because at Reliable sources, it says "Material from mainstream news organizations is welcomed, particularly the high-quality end of the market, for example the New York Times in the United States". The article's fairly well written though. I'm not quite sure what I think of it. [Belinrahs|talktome⁄ ididit] 18:38, 15 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Comment While WP:RS calls for quality sources, I object to those who equate quality with quantity. That the policy cites the New York Times as an example is pretty shameful at this point due to the number of ethical lapses reported about that particular publication over the last several years. Small, local papers are not to be dismissed as "unreliable" just because of their lower circulation numbers. We are supposed to look at editorial policies, standards, and the history of a particular publication in determining the reliability. Circulation has no correlation to those standards for the purpose of passing WP:RS.  Jim Miller  See me 19:05, 15 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Comment Being covered in a national newspaper is a pretty tough criterion, since very few politicians are ever mentioned in the NYT, Washington Post, WSJ, etc. The Snyder County Commissioners' decision on the Boscov bailout was covered in numerous statewide newspapers. The Harrisburg Patriot and Allentown Morning Call are two of them- I updated the page to reflect this.Crackerjack2009 (talk) 17:40, 16 October 2009 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.