SE caught plagiarizing

Spink-Bottle:

At a previous paper, one of our columnists submitted a wire column as his own. Word for word. His punishment: three months on the copy desk. That'll teach 'im.

 

Just drop a copy of a previous good evaluation on his desk or in his mailbox and hope he rewrites that one. Otherwise, there's not much you can do other than switch departments or look for a job at another paper.

 

Problem is, if it didn't go in the paper, then it wasn't "published," legally speaking. You actually saved his ass by catching it before it went in the paper.

Therefore the SE isn't actually guilty of plagiarism, yet. Most likely, he is on some sort of triple-secret probation inside the company.

But it would be a real good idea to polish up that resume anyway.

 

You're right. I missed that part somehow.

 

I can't believe how many people in our business actually get away with this. We had someone locally get fired for his and he was picked up months later by another local paper. It just blows my mind.

 

The SE cut and pasted someone else's story off the Web, added a local quote or two, and put his byline on the story. He handed it off to me as a finished product, and went home for the night. The next day, he e-mailed me and asked why I didn't run "his" story. I told him that it looked awfully familiar to someone else's story, and this is when he started squirming and lying. I informed the executive editor via e-mail (we have different hours and I hardly ever see him) and placed the victim's story and the plagiarist's story on the EE's desk. I also consulted with the news editor, who I believe has told others. Then I washed my hands of the affair, thinking that was the end of the SE. But apparently it wasn't

And just because it wasn't published doesn't mean it wasn't plagiarism. For example, students who copy others handiwork for nonpublication are still plagiarists.

And concerning the evaluation, I'm not worried about that. Every year I get an excellent review, and I expect no different this year (plus the SE has been kissing my ass ever since). It's just the principle: A plagiarist shouldn't be passing judgement on my work. And plagiarists should be fired.

 

Do-nothing managing editors and city editors should be fired, and they aren't.

If you start basing your case around so-and-so should be fired, you're in for a long wait.

And as someone else mentioned, he'll just be hired someplace else.

 

You're right, it still should be considered plagiarism in-house, and they should have fired him. Unfortunately, since it wasn't published, there was no harm to the person he stole it from, so you don't have the option of tipping off the other party. Not much you can do.

 

Well, it sounds like you have the best of all worlds right now: the SE has to kiss your ass, since he knows you have him by the balls.

If you're really all that upset about it, by all means go in to the EE or publisher's office, stamp your feet and pound your fist on the desk, and say you refuse to work with a plagiarist any more.

I am sure they'll rectify the situation within 10 seconds.

 

Your conscience should be clear, and you protected the readers from a credibility-busting story. Look around, and when you leave you'll know you learned more than you could have imagined.

 

Which will mean absolutely nothing in today's journalism environment.

 

Ding. Ding. Ding.