Wikipedia:Peer review/Marion Carpenter/archive1

Marion Carpenter
This peer review discussion has been closed. I've listed this article for peer review because I have added material and think it is now ready for B class.

Thanks, Jrcrin001 (talk) 00:05, 19 November 2010 (UTC)


 * Comments by Gbern3

Thank you for listing this article for peer review. In general, this article isn't written poorly it just needs more citations. There are several statements/quotes that have no source given. I have listed examples below. Also, most of the references are either dead or have been moved so they no longer support the statements in the article. The only references that work are 1, 3, 6, and 7. Note: In the review below I use the words source, citation, and reference interchangeably.

'''Lead ✅
 * Please expand the WP:LEAD. The first sentence is fine since it explains why Carpenter is important. However, the purpose of the lead is to summarize the article so it should be longer. The article isn't too big so the lead doesn't need to be any longer than two paragraphs.

'''Infobox ✅
 * In the caption, there needs to be a comma in between Carpenter's name and the year. Also, it would be nice to expand the caption under the photo to state where the picture was taken (if known).
 * "natural causes" and "cremated" are lowercase but "Photographer" and "Nurse" are uppercase. Use the same case for all entries so that the infobox is uniform
 * "Ground breaking" is WP:PEACOCK (bias). Change it to something factual but less flashy such as "Presidential", something to that effect. It's a fact and it still sounds important.
 * "Press Photographer" doesn't need to be capitalized in the infobox because it is not a title, it's a job position.

'''Family ✅
 * This sentence --> Carpenter was the daughter of Harry Carpenter who was born in Avery County, North Carolina, and Lillian B. Marion. needs a source
 * Ref 2 needs to be replaced. It has been moved or deleted so the text that was there to back up the statement you cited is now gone.
 * Is anything else know about her family? This section is pretty small. It would probably be better to merge it with "Early career".

'''Early career ✅
 * Per WP:EL, external links such as St Paul Camera Club should be used in the external links section and only if they are "relevant to an encyclopedic understanding of the subject."
 * The following three statements need references --> She also was a nurse... She went to Washington D.C. when she was about 24, and landed a job with the Times-Herald before switching to the International News Photos syndicate. Carpenter was 5 foot 5 inches tall..."
 * I think it would be best if you took these sentences out Carpenter was 5 foot 5 inches tall with long curly hair and a big warming smile. This had an impact on males in Washington who did not yet know her.[1][2] primarily because your second ref is dead and your first ref does not back up this claim. Also because these sentences do not tell the reader why this was important in her early career or why she was notable for being pretty. If she slept her way to success then this would be relevant but since she actually worked and because your references don't support those sentences, I think the article would be better without them. ✅

'''Press photo career ✅
 * Per WP:HEAD only the first word of a section heading should be capitalized. The other words should be lowercase.
 * While with the International News Photos syndicate she lobbied for the and won the White House job. This sentence is missing a reference. Also, ref 1 does not say she lobbied for the job --> "She won the White House job as a photographer for the International News Photos syndicate."
 * Over the next five or six years she became a favorite of U.S. President Harry S Truman and made her mark in Washington as a photographer of talent and temperament.[1][2] Your refs don't say that she was Truman's favorite or that she had talent and temperament. Those adjectives are also WP:PEACOCK.
 * You have a plagiarism issue in your article --> Article statement: As the first female member of the White House News Photographers' Association, she was the only woman among a handful of "official" presidential photographers who traveled with President Harry Truman and covered him daily.[4] Source (from ref 1): Carpenter was one of the first women in the White House News Photographers Association. She was the only woman among a handful of photographers who traveled with Truman. Click here to understand why this is plagiarism. ✅
 * The link for ref 4 was moved/deleted and is now gone
 * This needs a reference --> Carpenter became known as the "Camera Girl" and the "Photographer Girl" in Washington circles. And she didn't take being condescended to by the "old men's club" in Washington. When Tris Coffin, a columnist for the then 'Washington Times-Herald' claimed in print that she was using her "feminine charms to persuade politicians to pose for her camera" in March 1949, Carpenter got even. She drenched him with a big bowl of navy bean soup as another photographer was on hand to get the picture.
 * Needs a reference --> Whether it was from love or a desire to further her career, Carpenter had a love affair with a married man who promised to elevate her career. When this affair was exposed, her career ended prematurely in Washington, D.C.
 * The link that ref 5 points to has also been moved/deleted, doesn't support the sentence it serves as a citation for.

'''Later career ✅
 * The following needs a source --> She returned to St. Paul where she worked as a nurse and later opened a wedding photography business. She raced homing pigeons and showed German shepherds. She supported her mother until her death in the 1970s, and her son John. In 1968, her son John received a diploma from Harding High School, then became involved in criminal activities. He left home at age 19 and Carpenter never saw him again. John R. Anderson (4 Apr 1950 – 14 Oct 1997), her son, died in Minnesota. Nothing is known about his life.

'''Death ✅
 * These sentences need source(s) --> Carpenter died of natural causes in a small, crowded and older St. Paul, Minnesota house on Margaret Street. She was nearly destitute, and alone at the age of 82, except for her Rottweiler, Karl. Karl's mourning alerted a friend to check on her welfare. Carpenter was found on her couch "bundled up tightly" because of a lowered thermostat. <--This sentence really needs one because of the quotes. She had no family contacts listed, and most of her friends were only acquaintances she had made in local thrift shops and garage sales which she frequented.

'''Legacy ✅
 * You have a copyright issue because you're missing a citation on this statement from ref 1 --> One of those photos, which showed Truman striding uphill toward the Washington Monument, bears the message: "It's good exercise if you keep it up, but not for high-heeled shoes, Miss Carpenter." Also, all quoted statements should always have a source. ✅
 * Needs a citation, has a quote -->''Even when she climbed a ladder to the top of the Capitol dome to take a picture almost 300 feet above ground in a skirt, newsmen found it hard to just be nice. A front-page photo of her, high on the ladder, was captioned: "This picture ought to prove you never can tell what a woman photographer will do next."
 * External links such as "Seneca Competitor View" and "Rollei-Werke Franke and Heidecke" should be put in the external links section per WP:EL.
 * Most histories of pioneering female journalists don't mention Marion Carpenter. This is a WP:WEASEL statement so it needs a source.

'''1946 pictures ✅
 * Please spell out "WHNPA". What does this mean?
 * Photographer and last need to be capitalized in "The photographers Friend" and "The last Mile" since it's a title.
 * The president, gracious, as usual, poses for the “Just one more.” He added, “Photographers have to make a living too.” Quotes need a source. Gracious is bias so it's WP:PEACOCK.

'''References ✅
 * Please use citation templates when citing sources so that your references look the same and are formatted correctly.
 * The biography portal box should be moved to the external links section since it's an external link and not a reference.

'''External links ✅
 * The section heading is spelled incorrectly.
 * You do not have to format external links the same way you format references. The link itself is fine. See the Nick Ut article for an example.

I hope these suggestions are helpful. If you have any comments/questions leave a message on my talk page. //Gbern3 (talk) 14:14, 29 November 2010 (UTC)


 * Thank You! Thank You! I have incorporated most of the above already in the article on Marion Carpenter. As time permits, I will fix an item or two.  Her son reportedly died and I had listed him as: John R. Anderson (4 Apr 1950 – 14 Oct 1997) - but some one claiming to be her son came forward to claim her estate. Until that is figured out, I am not mentioning him other than what can be properly documented. Jrcrin001 (talk) 05:49, 9 December 2010 (UTC)