This page in a nutshell: The recurring events listed on this page are considered suitable for inclusion on the Main Page in the In the news section every time they occur. Other recurring events may also be included if they satisfy the usual ITN criteria.
This guideline is a supplement to the criteria for the In the news (ITN) section of the Main Page. It standardizes which recurring events are included in ITN.
Scheduled sporting events and other recurring items are different from other ITN candidates, because editors can foresee them and prepare for their potential inclusion. ITN editors have therefore produced this list of pre-approved events, which has been developed through discussion and consensus. The list assists editors in ensuring reasonably balanced coverage (for example of different sports) over time. It also avoids the need to debate an event's importance every time it occurs, providing consistency between years.
Items listed on this page are considered to have already satisfied the "importance" criterion for inclusion on ITN, every time they occur. This does not guarantee the item will be posted. The relevant article still needs to be appropriately updated, be of sufficient quality, and be nominated on the candidates page (ITN/C) before being posted. As with all ITN nominations, the posting (or not) of a recurring item can be weighed against whether it best serves the encyclopedia.
Any changes to this list, such as adding or removing an item, should be discussed at WT:ITN to gain consensus first. Items that are not on this list can still be nominated at ITN/C and discussed individually, where they will be assessed against the usual ITN criteria. New items being proposed for this list are often expected to show a recent track record of being consistently posted via individual ITN/C nominations to qualify for inclusion.
NB: Where a country has multiple legislative bodies, the elections to the body with superior power will be considered relevant for this paragraph. Where more than one body wields equivalent power, elections for both (or more) bodies will be considered relevant.
Changes, reelections or reappointments in the holder of the office which administer the executive of their respective state/government, in those countries which qualify under the criteria above, as listed at List of current heads of state and government except when that change was already posted as part of a general election.
In Switzerland, elections of new members to the Federal Council, but not normally general elections of the Federal Council or elections to the Presidency, which are generally pro forma.
Entries which refer to events where men's and women's events are concurrent (unless otherwise specified) are generally posted as a combined blurb, as long as both articles are of a sufficient quality. If only one of the two target articles is ready, it can be posted alone with the second article later combined into the blurb if and when it is also ready. In terms of timing, events are generally posted as soon as a winner is determined. Generally, the specific event article for that year/time period is the target article in the blurb (for example, 2016 Tour de France rather than the broader Tour de France); winning individuals or teams may be targets but their articles must meet the same ITN quality requirements as the event.
The Olympics, as the world's leading multi-day multi-sport event, is accepted as an appropriate "ongoing" entry.
The Commonwealth Games was posted as an "ongoing" entry in 2014.
The FIFA World Cup is accepted as an appropriate "ongoing" entry.
Nominations for various other multi-day single sport events for the "ongoing" section of ITN have failed, with a handful of exceptions.
The exceptions to this have been the Women's Football World Cup in 2015, 2019 and 2023, and the Cricket World Cup in 2019.
Expected stories per year: 2.25 (3 in Summer Olympic years, 4 in Winter Olympic years, 1 in odd-numbered years)
Notes
↑Announced in 2000, only one of the seven prizes available has been awarded as of 2024[update]
↑Taken as the publication of the discovery in a peer reviewed scientific journal
↑In the event that the two organizations do not name them simultaneously, the official naming should only be posted once.
↑Between 2000 and 2020, five new elements were reported (see Timeline of chemical element discoveries) and nine were officially named, but on some occasions multiple elements were reported or named simultaneously.
↑In previous years, the item has been added to ITN when the new members take their seats (1 January) rather than when the results were announced (during October). This is because the elections are not usually heavily competitive, and 1 January is in the middle of a very slow news period every year.
↑There is no objective measure of exactly what constitutes a Great Comet, but ITN consensus is for 'clearly visible by naked eye, even to those who weren't specifically looking for it'. See two sets of discussions at Wikipedia:In the news/Candidates/June 2010. Note Comet Holmes was considered significant enough for ITN when it brightened to mag +2.8, despite never receiving the 'Great' appellation.
↑Constructors' only mentioned alongside a Drivers' nomination. No separate post if won at different times. See WPT:ITN#Remove constructors title. (October 2022)
1234Both the men's and women's results posted together.
