Jill Abramson doesn't record interviews thanks to almost photographic memory

[typefitter]

There's an interesting Abramson storm on Twitter right now. A writer named Ian Frisch is claiming that she plagiarized him, and the mob is forming. But somewhere deep in the thread, someone has pointed out that she cites him repeatedly in her footnotes. I honestly don't know where I fall on it. She lifts quotes and slightly paraphrases passages—they're probably too close to the original—but then credits Frisch in the notes. It's a little 1990s university term paper-ish to me, and I wouldn't do it, but I'm not sure it's pure plagiarism.

 

[Junkie]

I've seen Rick Reilly strike the hand-on-the-chin pose.

Though perhaps not as lofty, status-wise, as the likes of Lupica, Albom or Reilly, or anyone else who may or may not flat out make up stuff from time to time to make their copy better, this person's ego is every bit as enormous. Was a bummer for me, too. It's someone I admired prior to that. Never meet your heroes, etc.

 

[typefitter]

Add: The Malooley lift is a purer form of plagiarism. Like, cited or not, this is indisputably plagiarism.

 

[CD Boogie]

In a post-game setting an assistant coach was being interviewed by two people: me and a writer both prominent and revered. I was recording the interview, he was taking notes. When his story came out, I saw that he had taken the coach's observations about the game and made it seem as if they were coming from him—and that the coach was agreeing with him.

(FYI, this was nearly fifteen years ago. My recorded quotes didn't end up in any story, so there was no way for an observer to spot the discrepancy).

When possible I always recorded and took paper notes, after a nightmarish incident in which I sat down to transcribe and found that my recorder had overheated in the sun and the interview was lost.

See, the revered writer would have taken that opportunity of the overhearte

Could be the Midwest Mayor of Munchkinland.

does he represent the lollypop guild?

 

[CD Boogie]

We had a columnist years ago who would write down one or two words during an interview. Then he'd magically have full quotes in his column. A couple times while he was an NBA beat writer and flying across country I'd go to practice and get him quotes. I'd give him the quotes and the ones that appeared in his story weren't close to what I provided. He embellished the heck out of them. Sickened me.

Sports figures seem to accede to that abuse more readily than average figures. Like they buy into the hype of a winner or loser more than someone, say, applying for a zoning variance. That was my experience; that even when they lost, sports figures were willing to relinquish the narrative, because everything was so black and white in some regards. As Parcells said, your record is what it says it is. And I think — crossthread — that bleeds into how people judge people like Tom Flores as it pertains to his HOF case, which is weighed down by his record with Seattle.

That's a really base perspective that lacks nuance, and yet most people don't want nuance. Rick Gosselin is an exception. I think Peter King is actually emblematic of it. One is lesser known and yet abides by an understanding that is not mainstream; while the other is ubiquitous and a parrot of the masses. Everything Peter King prosthelytizes is crowd-sourced.

 

[SoloFlyer]

Add: The Malooley lift is a purer form of plagiarism. Like, cited or not, this is indisputably plagiarism.

Yup, absolutely plagiarism.

Besides Abramson having the gall to do this, how does this stuff slip past the editors?

 

[CD Boogie]

Yup, absolutely plagiarism.

Besides Abramson having the gall to do this, how does this stuff slip past the editors?

The more I think about it, such foolery. She was begging for people to call her out on her sourcing when she is claiming a photographic memory. Or prompting people to pile on or summon ancillary incidents that don't serve her well. Hubris, I've been undone by it at junctures as well.

 

[Azrael]

Yup, absolutely plagiarism.

Besides Abramson having the gall to do this, how does this stuff slip past the editors?

Books are not routinely fact-checked.

 

[Azrael]

That kind of shirt happened for years with lots of writers. Whatever made a better story.

The worst examples of which are some of the 'nonfiction' giants, like Mitchell and Capote.

I can understand getting away with in 1950 or 1960 or even 1970. Information was harder to check.

Not sure how it happens in 2019.

If you're the subject of the story, and the writer pipes a quote, why wouldn't you complain about it publicly?

 

[LanceyHoward]

The worst examples of which are some of the 'nonfiction' giants, like Mitchell and Capote.

I can understand getting away with in 1950 or 1960 or even 1970. Information was harder to check.

Not sure how it happens in 2019.

If you're the subject of the story, and the writer pipes a quote, why wouldn't you complain about it publicly?

What did Capote do? Was it for "In Cold Blood"? DO you have a link. I believe you, I just want to see what he did since I read "In Cold Blood"

 

[Azrael]

What did Capote do? Was it for "In Cold Blood"? DO you have a link. I believe you, I just want to see what he did since I read "In Cold Blood"

Truman Capote's Co-Conspirators

The new "In Cold Blood" revisionism: What if Capote's classic wasn't fully true?

I Found the Papers of the Fact Checker Who Worked on "In Cold Blood." What Did He Miss?

So, 'In Cold Blood' Was Kind of a Sham - The Atlantic

Capote's "In Cold Blood" accuracy under scrutiny

New errors are discovered in 'In Cold Blood'

 

[Old Crank]

Books are not routinely fact-checked.

I have no idea what is in Abramson's contract with her publisher but in my experience every book contract has a clause that says the author guarantees the work is original.