Interesting plagiarism case

I was once the victim of reverse plagiarism. Our SE wrote a preview capsule for a HS football game and put my name on it. Turns out he did that with several staffers until one of them -- who is a lot bigger than me -- threatened to separate the SE's head from his shoulders if he ever did it again.

 

Happened to me once when I was working at a small daily ion Michigan eventuall swallowed by a bigger next door paper.
A high school football coach got hired and I wrote the story for my morning paper. When the afternoon paper came out, all my background was there. Fair enough, except it was verbatim. Not a comma was changed; if I wrote A then B, it wasn't even changed a to B then A -- stats, records, background, things he could have only known by actually talking to the coach.
I complained to my editor, who formally complained to the larger paper's editor -- a person who has a reputation of being difficult and sometimes pety micromanager. The competition editor's response: YOu can;t plagiarize stats and details, and he talked to the AD (not the coach) no soap.
Fair enough, but at least mix it up a bit.
What pissed me off is that I got along with the other writer. But after my paper closed, my cnock on him was I could never think the same of him again when we were now working together. Jumpin Jeebus man, at least you could have mixed things up so you didn't look like you blatantly stole my work.

 

Regarding the letter, I'd like to make a case for each camp.

The bitch-slapping was much deserved, and someone needed to show these people just how badly they messed up and just how much what they print can affect people. In my experience, bad things happen when editors forget that their subjects are real people and that they are accountable to them.

But, I did not like the letter writers telling the paper's publisher and editor how they should do their jobs. It's the kind of thing we laugh at every day, like when someone calls up and tells us what we need to be covering and where we need to run certain stories. They had every right to complain and complain fiercely, but demanding exactly who must receive an apology, the form of the apology and what the paper must do with its reporter is more than a bit much.

TNT just flashed to Woody Harrelson at the Golden State game, so apparently he's still alive.

 

What I tried to say in my first post on this thread; you said it much more betterer

 

Totally agree with this. The guy should have been fired after his first offense, so anger toward the writer and the paper are warranted.
However, what if the tables were turned?
Let's say this school board had employed a teacher who turned out to be a convicted felon. The paper might publicly call for the firing of the teacher and demand apologies (or explanations).
But I seriously doubt the paper would run something that said, "The school board must write letters of apology to the parents of each of the children in the classroom; to the taxpayers; to this newspaper; etc. The school board has been known to employ bad teachers before, so this isn't surprising, but it will do as it's told. It puts the lotion on its skin or it gets the hose again."
The school board has every right to be angry and to express that anger. It has no more right to tell the paper how to handle this issue than the paper does telling the school board how to conduct background checks.

 

Wow. At least my editor only tries to take ideas. In a staff meeting someone will raise story idea x, which is then promptly rejected as lame by the editor. Publisher walks into room and says "I think it would be a great idea to do story idea x." Editor then says "I was just thinking that!" ...Within 10 seconds it is quickly proved the editor has no idea what he is talking about, because he didn't like the idea and is just sucking up to publishers. Staffer who actually had idea then jumps in to fill out thought. Fun times.

 

I was wondering the same thing.

 

No, this person used it in a different publication than the one I was writing for and I didn't want to cause an uproar or make it well known, because it's hard enough for a rookie to get started as it is. Although in hindsight, what I had was better than the average rookie story and I should not have let him get away with it. So for that I find myself at fault.

 

kathy--were you an employee, or was this freelanced?

At the very least you should have shared a double byline. The story seems so incredibly egregious I wish we knew the details.

 

;D That competition would end rather quickly. I just googled one of the quotes that was from a telephone conversation I had with one of the people and the article in question came up right away. Still burns me to see it. Plus this was not long ago, aka I'm still just a rookie, so I'm still in the same boat.

 

Interesting how times have changed. I could list half a dozen reporters and editors -- all you'd instantly recognize -- who stole other people's work and got away with it with maybe a handslap. No more.

Kathy, plagiarism is the journalistic equivalent of rape. I don't think you ought to be afraid to report it, although I think we all understand your reasons for being reluctant.