Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Vauhini Vara

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 no consensus. So Why 07:23, 13 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Vauhini Vara[edit]

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I prodded it with the following rationale: "The coverage (references, external links, etc.) does not seem sufficient to justify this article passing Wikipedia:General notability guideline and the more detailed Wikipedia:Notability (biographies) requirement. " It was deprodded by User:Rhododendrites with the following rationale "Apparently prolific writer for top tier publications means it's likely she's been cited by peers. merits a week at afd". Well, here we are then. I don't see any better sources, mentions in passing - that's all. Nothing to suggests passing GNG or related requirements. _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 06:05, 21 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Women-related deletion discussions. Coolabahapple (talk) 15:56, 21 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Journalism-related deletion discussions. Coolabahapple (talk) 15:56, 21 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Colorado-related deletion discussions. WCQuidditch ☎ ✎ 19:37, 21 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Strong Keep. Faulty nomination, as subject is obviously notable. Has reported for significant major publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Businessweek, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and has received the O. Henry Award for fiction writing. I've added a few citations to the article, however a simple Google search reveals an extensive list of publications. Netherzone (talk) 02:21, 22 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Hold on. An extensive list of publications means nothing. It's having them noticed by others that brings notability. Xxanthippe (talk) 02:47, 22 June 2017 (UTC).[reply]

Indeed. But the fact that she won the O. Henry Award is something. She is unlikely to be notable as a journalist, but perhaps she meets WP:NAUTHOR. I looked into that, but she wasn't listed in our entry on O. Henry Award, which after a bit of digging means that her story did not make it to the Top 3 'Juror Favorites', but was in the Top 20 or so of recognized stories ([1]). It seems in the past there were special awards for the top 3? stories, now the top 3 are seen as equal, but in either case, she didn't get the 'top prize', only the second prize shared by 17 other writers. I think that being in the Top 20, second tier of a relatively minor (not household name) award is not yet sufficient to meet WP:AUTHOR. --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 10:07, 28 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Keep. Significant journalist with obvious claims to notability as established by sources. The Drover's Wife (talk) 02:58, 22 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, North America¹⁰⁰⁰ 03:15, 28 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Delete The coverage of her does not rise to the level of notability. Most of the sources are either staff bios or articles written by her. The exceptions are just routine reports on the changing of an editorship and do not show sustained coverage of her. She is business editor at a publication not known for business reporting. This is not a position that confers default notability and nothing else shows that she is notable.John Pack Lambert (talk) 04:25, 28 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Keep per the significant coverage in multiple independent reliable sources.
1. Bhatt, Shakti (2003-02-21). "Vauhini Vara chosen to be first Pearl journalism intern". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 2017-07-02. Retrieved 2017-07-02.
  The article notes:
  
  Vauhini Vara, a 20-year-old freshman at Stanford University, has been chosen to be the first Daniel Pearl Memorial journalism intern.
  ...
  Vara, who is majoring in international relations with a minor in economics and communication, was one of 21 students who applied for the scholarship.
  A junior from Mercer Island, Washington, she will work in a foreign bureau of the Journal this summer. The Journal will pay her a salary of $700 a week. Vara will also receive $5,000 from the Daniel Pearl Memorial Fund, which has managed to raise $100,000 so far.
  ...
  Vara is a news editor at the university's newspaper Stanford Daily. She has previously interned as a business reporter for The Denver Post and also won scholarships from the Asian American Journalist Association as well as the Northwest Journalists of Colour.
2. Bloomgarden-Smoke, Kara (2013-07-06). "Newyorker.com Hires Business Editor". New York Observer. Archived from the original on 2017-07-02. Retrieved 2017-07-02.
  The article notes:
  
  Ms. Vara has pretty shiny credentials to helm Newyorker.com’s business vertical. In addition to an M.F.A in Creative Writing from the prestigious University of Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop, Ms. Vara majored in International Relations and Economics at Stanford University. Most recently, she was a staff writer at The Wall Street Journal, where she spent the past three years covering California politics. Before covering politics (and taking time off to get her fiction writing degree), Ms. Vara covered the tech industry and Silicon Alley for the Journal.
3. Roush, Chris (2013-07-16). "NewYorker.com hires business editor". Talking Biz News. Archived from the original on 2017-07-02. Retrieved 2017-07-02.
  The article notes:
  
  Vara comes from the Wall Street Journal, where she covered the tech industry and Silicon Valley businesses, and where she most recently covered California politics. She is a graduate of Stanford University, with a B.A. in international relations and economics, and a 2010 graduate of the University of Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop, with an M.F.A in creative writing.
4. "Periplus Leaves Speller Among Champs at Bee". The Oklahoman. 1995-06-02. Archived from the original on 2017-07-02. Retrieved 2017-07-02.
  The article notes:
  
  Edmond student Vauhini Vara lasted longer than any Oklahoma speller in the history of the National Spelling Bee but stumbled over "periplus" Thursday to finish third in the 68th annual contest.
  Vara, who qualified for the competition after being named champion in The Oklahoman's spelling bee in March, was the last of three competitors eliminated in the ninth round. As a result, all three will share the $2,500 third-place prize. She will get $1,656.
5. Ellison, Nyajai (2017-05-31). "How Indian-Americans Learn To Have A Way With Words". Wisconsin Public Radio. Archived from the original on 2017-07-02. Retrieved 2017-07-02.
  The article notes:
  
  Vauhini Vara, a former, self-described "preteen Indian-American spelling nerd" and author of the story "Bee-Brained: Inside the competitive Indian-American spelling community" which appeared in the May issue of Harper’s Magazine, said while there were other Indian-American kids who competed in the spelling bee during the time she did in the mid-1990s, they weren’t dominant like they are today.
  Vara, who is also a staff writer at The California Sunday Magazine and a contributing writer for The New Yorker‘s website, said she credits success to Indian-American spelling networks that have grown over the past 20 years.
6. Payne, Patti (2003-05-29). "Oprah draws big bucks for Seattle appearance". King County Journal. Archived from the original on 2017-07-02. Retrieved 2017-07-02.
  The article notes:
  
  Mercer Island's Vauhini Vara, 20, is one college student whose summer job search is over. This Mercer Island High School grad and Stanford junior is the first Daniel Pearl Memorial Journalism intern. Pearl was a Wall Street Journal correspondent who was brutally murdered in Pakistan. Vara will be working as a paid intern for Michael Williams, the paper's Southern Europe bureau chief, in July. She recently had a get-acquainted lunch with him in Paris. Williams said his impression of Vara is "bright and enthusiastic, and she possesses the same pluck as Danny did." Vara will be treated as if she were a new WSJ reporter, rather than an intern -- held to the same high journalistic standards, given spot news stories in Paris at first and then features about France. She returns to Stanford in late September.
There is sufficient coverage in reliable sources to allow Vauhini Vara to pass Wikipedia:Notability#General notability guideline, which requires "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject".
Cunard (talk) 08:45, 2 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

- Sorry, Cunard, this time I am not impressed. Mostly local news, read like press release, and some of it is pretty in passing. --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 09:12, 2 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, North America¹⁰⁰⁰ 02:39, 5 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Delete. obviously trivial and local coverage. Getting even a very important internship is not notability, and trying to magnify it so it looks as if it is, is tabloid journalism . NOT TABLOID is the argument agains having this and similar WP articles DGG ( talk ) 03:44, 9 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

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.