Reading the Charlotte Sun Newspaper

There’s a new way to treat heartburn in our little town. Local physician Alvaro Bada says this about it: This procedure can significantly improve quality of life for our patients. Many reflux patients are unable to drink carbonated beverages, caffeine or eat rich foods or fruit without triggering reflux.

Strangely enough, Dr. William E. Kelly Jr. at Henrico (Virginia) Doctors’ Hospital, describes the same procedure this way: EsophyX can signficantly improve quality of life for our patients. Many reflux patients are unable to drink carbonated beverages, caffeine or eat rich foods or fruit without triggering reflux.

And amazingly, Dr. Paul Cirangle of San Francisco explains the procedure like this: EsophyX can signficantly improve quality of life for our patients. Many reflux patients are unable to drink carbonated beverages, caffeine or eat rich foods or fruit without triggering reflux.

Back in our town, Bada’s partner, Domingo Galliano, adds to the discussion: Recent studies of EsophyX have shown that the procedure can reduce patients’ dependence on medications with 80 percent of patients remaining symptom free after two years and experiencing a dramatic improvement in their quality of life. We are very excited to be able to offer our patiewnts the same incredible benefits with minimal risk.

But Kelley in Virginia “said” it first, back on June 23: Recent studies of EsophyX have shown that the procedure can reduce patients’ dependence on meedications with 80 perc ent of patients remaining symptom free after two years and experiencing a dramatic improvement in their quality of life. We are very excited to be able to offer our patiewnts the same incredible benefits with minimal risk.

Even the San Francisco doctor said it more than a month before the local guys got around to saying it: Recent studies of EsophyX have shown that the procedure can reduce patients’ dependence on meedications with 80 perc ent of patients remaining symptom free after two years and experiencing a dramatic improvement in their quality of life. We are very excited to be able to offer our patiewnts the same incredible benefits with minimal risk.

There’s quite a bit more, but you get the picture.

So, what’s so bad about this obvious marketeering? Michelle Ritter, the local writer, put her name on the story and failed to use quotes or attributions; doing so tells Charlotte Sun newspaper readers she wrote it. That’s clearly a lie for which there is a specific name: plagiarism. But the plagiarist doesn’t sully only her own reputation; she draws others into the journalistic muck.

Ritter puts prefabricated quotes into the mouths of the local doctors, as if they had really said those things.

And Feeling Fit editor Jennifer Wadsworth publishes the fake as a news feature, probably unaware that Ritter is now a three-time winner in the 2008 plagiarism scorecard.

All in all, about a full third of the wordage Ritter claims as her own has a common source with the public relations writers for hospitals in Virginia and California. Old Word Wolf suspects a manufacturer’s brochure or news release. At least the California and Virginia practitioners distributed generic notices, possessing an ethical compass that steered them away from claiming the words and work of others as their personal productions.

Back in high school, busy students logged onto www. free-essays dot com to download five or ten pages analyzing theme, conflict and imagery in The Scarlet Letter or “A Rose for Emily.” When they got to college, those same busy, busy students hooked up with www. college-papers dot com. For eight or ten dollars a page, they could put their own names on “nonplagiarized essays,” complete with footnotes and bibliographies on such topics as “Comparative Motifs in The Pearl Poet and Sir Gawain,” or “Microeconomic Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of NAFTA,” and “The Psycho-Social Impacts of Gay Adoption.” Now, thrust into the real world of work, what’s a busy, busy high-school-valedictorian-college-grad-cum-laude now a very busy, busy CPA to do when he needs a nicely written newspaper column?

An Oak Harbor, Wash., firm, Mostad and Christensen Inc., comes to the rescue! For a tad less than $500 a year, the nice folks there e-mail a monthly assortment of tax and financial articles, edited to about 300 words and suitable for “publishing in local newspapers or community publications under your firm’s name,” according to the company’s Web-sales site.

And, my goodness! How well this system serves all involved – as long as you don’t count the reader – is evident right here in today’s Gondolier, business page, front and center. D. Grady Hough Jr., who earns his living as a CPA in Venice gets “business columnist” status to publish the 300 words he bought last month from Mostad and Christensen. His purchase price includes the privilege of saying the essay is his own work, even though it isn’t.

Apart from the bleak ethics of lying about whether you wrote something – called plagiarism except when semi-winked at by contractual arrangements between consenting adults – this article requires the newspaper’s entire staff of writers, editors, and publishers turn a blind eye to the deception it works on their community of readers. Most newspapers, when running this sort of drek, put a box around it and display the words “paid advertisement” in a place easily discerned by readers who like their business news gathered and presented by trained journalists who make at least a pretense of objectivity.

As for Mr. Hough: He’s in a field that requires a high level of trust. Old Word Wolf can’t trust him to admit where he got his “news” or acknowledge that he didn’t research it, write it, or check its accuracy. And we’re supposed to trust him with our taxes?

On a jollier note … Read the rest of this entry »

Is the type too small to read? Then just go to the Web page from which this column has been copied. You’ll have to scroll down past last week’s plagiarism (read our Nov. 1 post, below) to reach this week’s plagiarism. But it’s all there.

Old Word Wolf wrote DeSoto Sun editors to point out that Patrick Elmore, pastor of two United Methodist Churches in these parts, had appropriated the copyrighted material of another writer. Nonetheless, Elmore’s Plagiarism Part 2 has been awarded six columns in today’s paper.

… Here’s the rest of the sermon: …

It’s clearly the culture and thus acceptable to plagiarize at the Charlotte Sun, DeSoto Sun, and such. How does Old Word Wolf know this? Take a look at who’s still “on the payroll.”

Last week, Laura Schmid, David Dunn-Rankin and Chris Porter, principal editors of the DeSoto Sun and Charlotte Sun, were notified of Patrick Elmore’s cut-and-paste Saturday sermon. This week, they played Elmore’s Saturday sermon, part 2, plagiarized from the same copyrighted source, large and wide. Plagiarist’s Status: still on the payroll.

A couple of weeks back, staff writer John Lawhorne, used his byline instead of crediting Wikipedia for his “research” into a band’s history. Plagiarist’s status: still on the payroll.

Last month, Gerald A. Rogavin, writing for the Gondolier Sun, a sister publication, did a crude plagiarism of a New York Times newspaper article. Plagiarist’s status: still on the payroll.

Susan Cairo, who plagiarized a park service brochure rather than write her own copy about Myakka State Park: still on the payroll.

Barbara Oehlbeck, who plagiarized the History Channel back in May for “her” piece on Decoration Day, was recently awarded a bylined article announcing a USF award to a plant biologist. Plagiarist’s status: Well, you get the point.

These are only the most recent examples of nearly three dozen cases of plagiarism (including the occasional editor and not just freebie “columnists”) that we have posted in this blog since launching about a year ago in response to more than a dozen earlier cases that were reported to the publishers and largely ignored.

The publisher’s and editor’s culture at Sun Coast Media Group conglomerate condones – encourages – plagiarism by continuing to accept these articles without consequences for the plagiarists. Plagiarism is cheap, easy, and there’s no real penalty, right? Staff writers, editors, “men of god,” and correspondents have all at one time or another cut-and-pasted their way to a byline at these papers. Here, there’s no expectation that the “journalists” investigate, check, attribute, or otherwise play fair with readers, subscribers, advertisers, much less the actual the ethics of publishing.

Today’s three-column business page item, “Mid-Florida Regional MLS goes public,” carries the byline of Stephen Lingley, a writer presented as a “guest columnist.” The look and feel of Lingley’s article – on the Venice Gondolier business page, with a photo, byline, and a little paragraph about the writer (“outgoing president of the Venice Area Board of Realtors) – suggests in every way possible that Lingley wrote the column.

He didn’t. It’s an abbreviated version of a Web page posted last month by Mid-Florida Regional Multiple Listing service. Here’s the evidence — but the crime goes beyond the mere copying of words.

MFRMLS: More than 80% of homebuyers start their home search online.
Lingley: More than 80 percent of homebuyers start their home search online.
MFRMLS: Increasingly, 3rd party services are taking over the top search engine spots for the most relevant search terms.
Lingley: Increasingly, third-party services are taking over the top search engine spots for the most relevant search terms.
MFRMLS: Realtors who wish to take advantage of 3rd party services such as Yahoo Real Estate, Cyberhomes, Realtor.com, Trulia, and Zillow often find it can get very expensive.
Lingley: Realtors who wish to take advantage of 3rd party services such as Yahoo Real Estate, Cyberhomes, Realtor.com, Trulia, and Zillow often find it can get very expensive.

And so on. You get the idea. But there’s more going on here than garden variety plagiarism.

A local real estate agent – president of his professional group, no less – appropriates a chunk of promotional literature without disclosing its source or origin to readers. The verbiage surely has been freely offered up by the nice MLS folks. After all, the words promote their services and members, Lingley’s little column gets out the MLS message, and the nicely placed spot doesn’t cost the organization a dime in advertising. It is pure agenda disguised as news.

Is it plagiarism? Technically, yes. Lingley presents the work of others as his own. But the sin is more venial than word theft. Lingley and the Gondolier “editors” (I’ll be generous, here), have hidden the origin and purpose of the information. Sure, it’s a “column” and free to be as biased as it wants. The trouble is, no one is telling readers the bias cloaks an MLS marketing agenda.

What Lingley omits from his carefully snipped column are the parts that go like this:

MyFloridaHomesMLS.com is not nearly as powerful as MLXchange. Consumers have access to only a handful of the search criteria available in MLXchange, which means as a REALTOR® you have the power to deliver much more highly-targeted results to your clients than the consumer website can. MyFloridaHomesMLS.com is really meant to be a first stop for homebuyers, a place where they can get a feel for what they want and establish a relationship with a REALTOR®. Once that relationship is established, they are most likely to begin relying on your expertise, on your IDX website, and on the custom agent web page that you provide

The Gondolier has been covering recent controveries surrounding government in the sunshine in Our Little Town. Old Word Wolf suggests editors examine the concept of journalism in the sunshine and spike these thinly veiled ads.

This morning’s DeSoto Sun carries a column under the photo and byline of Rev. Patrick Elmore, pastor of two United Methodist churches in a neighboring village. The column Rev. Elmore calls his own is, in fact, the copyrighted material of John Coblentz,, an Anabaptist who has made an honest living since 1992 by selling his book, Chrisitan Family Living.

Our local Christian Man of God does not attribute or acknowledge his source. The shirt-tail even promises Sun readers they can “read more of the Rev. Elmore’s column in Nov. 8’s DeSoto Sun.” No: We can read more of John Coblentz. And if we don’t want wait for the second installment, we can click the link and go straight to the source.

So, what exactly does god’s word look like to a plagiarist? Sort of like Noah’s ark: the paragraphs come in two by two. Here’s the evidence, Coblentz first and the local preacher second.

John Coblentz in 1992: To say that the family is in a state of deterioration in Western culture is anticlimactic.

Rev. Patrick Elmore in 2008: To say that the family is in a state of deterioration in Western culture is an understatement.

John Coblentz: Many have said it. Many are saying it. And the family continues to fall apart. In spite of the multitude of books, seminars, and experts, husbands and wives are still alienating themselves from each other, parents from children, and children from parents.

Rev. Patrick Elmore: Many have said it. Many are saying it. And the family continues to fall apart. In spite of the books, seminars and experts, parents are still alienating themselves from each other, and from children, and children from parents.

Coblentz: Unfortunately, what many fail to realize is that the problem is not simply the Western family, but Western life. While millions are being spent on more programs, better methods, and clearer training for parents, the real problem is often unaddressed. The way we Westerners live–the things we think are important, the attitudes we have toward life, the very structure of our home life–renders ineffective much of the good advice we hear.

Rev. Elmore: Unfortunately, what many fail to realize is that the problem is not simply the modern family, but modern family lifestyle. While millions are being spent on more programs, better methods and clearer training for parents, the real problem is often unaddressed.The things we think are important, the attitudes we have toward life, the very structure of our home life renders ineffective much of the good advice we hear.

Coblentz: One example will suffice. While many Christian parents are wondering whether the music their teens listen to is suitable listening, and sometimes arguing about volume and forbidding this or that tape, few modern parents ever consider that today’s music industry, including the Christian music industry, has virtually destroyed certain Christian values. Silence. The sheer noise (even nice-sounding noise) in many homes today would have driven many of our great-grandparents out to the pastures for a quiet walk. Worship. Where, in all the hullaboo of Christian music today and the idolizing of favorite groups and the scrambling for each new tape and bickering over how loud to play it, is the reverent sense of God? And how many thousand-dollar music systems (which are not worth a nickel in heaven) have silenced the voices of families singing simple but heartfelt praise to God?

Rev. Elmore: While many Christian parents wonder whether the music their teens listen to is suitable listening, and sometimes argue about the volume and forbidding this or that, a few 21st century parents ever consider that today’s music industry, including the Christian music industry, has virtually destroyed certain Christian values. Silence. The sheer noise in many homes today would have driven many of our great-grandparent out to the pastures for a quiet walk. Worship. Where in all the hullabaloo of Christian music today and the idolizing of favorite groups and the scrambling for each new release and bickering over how loud to play it, is the reverent sense of God? And how many thousand dollar music systems have silenced the voices of families singing simple but heartfelt praise to God?

Coblentz: The point is simple. There are many homes which can never be wholesome until some radical changes take place in the home structure. It would be foolish to try to build a house in a swamp on straw bales. And it is just as foolish to think we can build godly homes on the values commonly accepted in Western culture. If in Christian homes we find straw bales in the foundation, we cannot correct the problem by hiring some interior decorator to counsel us on paint. The foundation needs help first.

Rev. Elmore: The point is simple. There are many homes which can never be wholesome until some radical changes take place in the home structure. It would be foolish to try to build a house in a swamp on straw. And it is just as foolish to think we can build godly homes on the values commonly accepted in Western culture. If in Christian homes we find straw bales in the foundation, we cannot correct the problem by hiring some interior decorator to counsel us on paint. The foundation needs help first.

Coblentz: This chapter is about foundational things. From the Scriptures we want to see just what God intended the family to be. We want to look at concepts which are basic to the family as a social unit. And later we want to look at some of the straw bales which our culture is pressuring us to use in our homes, and which we must reject if we are to have wholesome families.

Rev. Elmore: The Social Unit. Let’s talk about foundational things. From the Scriptures we want to see just what God intended the family to be. We want to look at concepts which are basic to the family as a social unit. And later we want to look at some of the straw which our culture is pressuring us to use in our homes, and which we must reject if we are to have wholesome families.

Coblentz: The Social Unit. “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 6:6,7). [...]

Rev. Elmore: The Social Unit. “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 6:6,7).

Coblentz: From these and similar Scriptures, we can easily see that God intended the family to be the most basic social unit of society. It is the place where such activities as visiting, eating, instruction, work, and play have their center. God intended that we interact with family members more than with anyone else. And having ordained the home to be the primary place of social interaction, God laid down guidelines for proper interaction.

Rev. Elmore: From these and similar Scriptures, we can easily see that God intended the family to be the most basic social unit of society. It is the place where such activities as visiting, eating, instruction, work, and play have their center. God intended that we interact with family members more than with anyone else. And having ordained the home to be the primary place of social interaction, God laid down guidelines for proper interaction.

Coblentz: As a social unit, however, the family in Western culture is seriously deficient. Those who want to work go to the corporation. Those who want to learn go to school. Those who want to play go to the park or the recreation center. Those who want to eat go to McDonalds. Visiting takes place only in snatches. Many Christian families find it strange to have the whole family home for an evening. Monday night is practice. Tuesday night is a ball game. Wednesday night is prayer meeting (for some). Thursday night is office cleaning (second job). Friday night is a social planned….Run, run, run! Such social chaos was virtually unheard of for the family 100 years ago. And so, fathers must be told to do things with their children. Parents need to plan a “family night” or “quality time” because as a social unit, the family is falling apart.
Some of the pressures of over-activity will be discussed more later, but for now, let’s note that every child and every adult needs wholesome family interaction.

Rev. Elmore: As a social unit, however, the family in Western culture is seriously deficient. Those who want to work go to the work place. Those who want to learn go to school. Those who want to play go to the park or the recreation center. Those who want to eat go to McDonald’s. Visiting takes place only in snatches. Many Christian families find it strange to have the whole family home for an evening. Monday night is practice. Tuesday night is a ball game. Wednesday night is prayer meeting (for some). Thursday night is choir practice. Friday night is TGIF night out ….Run, run, run! Such social chaos was virtually unheard of for the family 100 years ago. And so, parents must be told to do things with their children. Parents need to plan a “family night” or “quality time” because as a social unit, the family is falling apart. Every child and every adult needs wholesome family interaction.

Sun Staff Writer John Lawhorne — the man who brought the art of the agenda-rewrite to new lows — landed on the cover of the local entertainment insert today. A rock band, 38 Special, is due to hit town next week. So Lawhorne hit Wikipedia.

Most of the last two legs of type, readers will note, sound very like the entry posted in that repository of all modern knowledge.

Here’s the comparison. Newspaper first. Wikepedia second:

John Lawhorne: In the early 1980s, the band began incorporating elements of blues-rock and arena rock into their sound. A string of successful albums and singles followed.
Wikipedia: By the early 1980s, the band began incorporating elements of blues-rock and arena rock into their sound, kicking off a string of successful albums and singles.

John Lawhorne: Best-known songs by the group include “Caught Up in You” (1982) and “If I’d been The One” (1983). Both songs hit number one on the Billboard magazine’s album rock chart.
Wikipedia: Among 38 Special’s best-known songs are “Caught Up in You” (1982) and “If I’d Been the One” (1983), both of which hit #1 on Billboard magazine’s album rock chart.

John Lawhorne: “Second Chance” (1989) became number one on Billboard’s adult contemporary chart. It was sung by Max Carl, now a member of Grand Funk Railroad.
Wikipedia: “Second Chance” (1989), a #1 hit on Billboard’s adult contemporary chart, and sung by former member Max Carl who is now a member of Grand Funk Railroad.

Lawhorne retains the wording of most of his source material — Wikipedia. He breaks up a couple of long Wiki-sentences into two shorter sentences, but retains the exact order of clauses and ideas. The sentences appear just as they do here — in order, with no breaks. That’s a big chunk of someone else’s writing to put your byline on, John.

Oh, he does move one Wikipedia paragraph higher up in his own story.

Lawhorne: The current band lineup includes co-lead singer and guitarist Barnes, co-lead singer and rhythm guitarist Van Zant, guitarist Danny Chauncey, bassist Larry Junstrom, keyboardist Bobby Caps, and drummer Gary Moffatt.
Wikipedia: The current lineup consists of co-lead singer Don Barnes, rhythm guitarist and co-lead singer Donnie Van Zant, guitarist Danny Chauncey, bassist Larry Junstrom, keyboardist Bobby Caps, and drummer Gary Moffatt.

Venice Gondolier Correspondent Gerald A. Rogovin appears to have copied — plagiarized — some old news from a piece that appeared in the New York Times last August.

Rogovin is identified as a correspondent with The Venice Gondolier, a newspaper produced by Sun Coast Media Group and David Dunn-Rankin. The plagiarized story is about citrus greening, a deadly crop disease.

Here’s the evidence of Rogovin’s plagiarism and his editor’s carelessness in failing to check on a writer who clearly does not appreciate the ethics of putting one’s name on something he didn’t write — and then submits it for publication, anticipating a paycheck for his effort.

Venice Gondolier Correspondent Gerald A. Rogovin appears to have copied — plagiarized — some old news from a piece that appeared in the New York Times last August.

Rogovin is identified as a correspondent with The Venice Gondolier, a newspaper produced by Sun Coast Media Group. The story is about citrus greening, a deadly crop disease.

Here’s the evidence of Rogovin’s plagiarism and his editor’s carelessness in failing to check on a writer who clearly fails to appreciate the ethics of putting one’s name on something he didn’t write — and then submits it for publication, anticipating a paycheck for his effort.

David Karp of the New York Times (August 26, 2008): “The world’s most destructive citrus disease is threatening the groves of Florida, the largest domestic producer of these fruits. The disease, which obstructs the flow of nutrients in citrus trees, originated more than a century ago in southern China, where it was named huanglongbing, or “yellow shoot disease.” It also goes under the common name of greening, because many fruits remain green and are lopsided and bitter. Infected trees die within several years. The form in Florida is associated with a bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, that is transmitted by a tiny insect, the Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri), which thrives on young citrus leaves. Since it was first recognized in the United States — near Miami in 2005 — the disease has spread across Florida. Timothy R. Gottwald, an epidemiologist with the federal Department of Agriculture, has projected that virutally all the sate’s citrus trees will be infected in 7 to 12 years.

The methods now used to control the disease — spraying to kill psyllids and removing infected trees — have proved inadequate. Many farmers are not replanting because young, vigorous trees attract psyllids.

To save their $9-billion industry, Florida citrus growers have shifted money to a huge research program from advertising. Spending will triple to $20 million next year and support more than 100 research projects, said Mr. McClure, who is chairman of the Florida Citrust Production Research Advisory Council.

[snip]

Oranges and grapefruits, Florida’s main citrus crops, are susceptible to greening, while lemons and some limes seem tolerant, said William Dawson of the University of Florida. Breeders would like to hybridize new varieties fully resistant to greening, but have not identified any resistant citrus species for making crosses, which would take decades to bear useful results. [...] Most scientists think the most promising long-term strategy is to transform commercial varieties genetically to make them resistant. [...snip]

Gerald A. Rogovin, Venice Gondolier Correspondent: “Almost all of Florida’ citrus trees could be infected with the world’s most destructive citrus disease in seven to 12 years. … The disease, which obstructs the flow of nutrients in citrus trees, first appeared in this country near Miami three years ago and has since spread across the state. It originated more than 100 years ago in southern China. The Chinese call it “yellow shoot disease.” Florida’s citrus growers gave it the name “greening” because many fruits remain green and are lopsided and bitter. Infected trees die within several years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A tiny insect that thrives on young citrus leaves transmits bacteria that kill the trees. Spraying to kill the pests and removing infected trees is not working. As a consequence, many growers have stopped replanting because young vigorous trees attract such pests.

To save the state’s $9-billion industry, citrus growers have shifted money from an advertising budget to one for research. Spending will triple to $20 million next year and support more than 100 research projects.

Those University of Florida scientists say that oranges and grapefruit are susceptible to greening. Lemons and some limes seem tolerant.

Breeders would like to produce hybrids of new varieties that are fully resistant to greening, but they haven’t identified any resistant species for making crosses. That, they say, would take decades to bear useful results. The most promising long-term strategy is to transform commercial varieties genetically to make them resistant.

The byline on today’s story is that of the CEO of a local community Hospital. But if readers expect “Increase your child’s health and safety this summer” to be straight from the top administrator’s pen, they would be wrong.

It appears the administrator is a plagiarist – an unintentional one, most likely – but it’s her name on a Charlotte Sun “Health and Fitness” article that appears nearly word-for-word on a copyrighted Web site called Stretcher Dot Com.

It looks like CEO Wendy Brandon — or more likely the hospital’s paid copywriter – has “borrowed” extensively from a material researched and written by a professional speaker and author named Brenda Nixon. Nixon hales from Ohio and is unlikley to read the local paper. So what’s the harm in stealing three or four paragraphs from her?

For one thing, Nixon earns her living through her pen and offers her articles for reprint. The agreement — if she is typical of most freelancers — is she gets paid and the stories carry her by-line. So, unless the hospital has hired Brenda Nixon herself under a contract that allows the hospital to alter content, then the remarkable similarities between Nixon’s and Brandon’s versions require some explanation. The most probable one is plagiarism.

This particular plagiarism example raises the question, is it plagiarism when the copyist alters some of the wording to “make it her own?” After all, the copyist has made changes.

The answer is, yes. Plagiarism doesn’t have to be an exact, unvaried, word-for-word copy. Plagiarism happens when an idea is co-opted. Plagiarism occurs when the order of ideas (story structure) is copied. Plagiarism happens when the underlying sentence structure is copied. Plagiarism is not avoided by changing a couple of words or flopping the order of one or two sentences. For example, in the case of the Nixon-Brandon pieces below, changing “plea” to “beg” and substituting “help” for “do the trick” is simply synonym swapping. Moving around a couple of phrases about how much kids like dogs not only doesn’t avoid plagiarism, the ruse strongly suggests the hospital’s writer was attempting to hide her/his tracks.**

Here are the details. Read the rest of this entry »

The DeSoto Sun this morning carries an apparently plagiarized story in the local section (page 4), headlined “Tips for handling fireworks safely.” The by-line is “Staff Report.” The story is a word-for-word copy of a page posted by the City of North Port on its copyrighted Web site, City of North Port (Fla.) Dot Com. The DeSoto Sun’s Staff Reporter has not acknowledged the story’s source, the circumstances of its reprinting, and does not feel the urge to share with readers whether permission (perhaps?) was given to publish the municipal writer’s research, words, and ideas.

A core tenet of journalism: Honest, ethical reporters tell readers where they got their information. In all but the rarest of circumstances, they accurately identify sources.

Can someone plagiarize anonymously? Sure. Readers just don’t know who, precisely, the plagiarist is. For lack of a by-line in this case, readers must credit the publisher and perhaps his section editors with this particularly noxious form of reader deception.