This story in American Journalism Review returns us to the issue of Wikipedia and its utility in journalism. Copy editors at The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times are among the sources quoted.
It turns out that Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales suggests what I have told students in my editing classes: Wikipedia is OK as a starting point for research, but it shouldn't be your last stop. As mentioned here, there's enough junk on Wikipedia to use it with caution.
When journalists attribute information to Wikipedia, it is pure laziness.