Another mainstream journalist has been caught up in a plagiarism scandal, and has resigned. You only get one actual example in this AP story of the over-the-top, unattributed cribbing from other sources that drove veteran Baltimore Sun columnist Michael Olesker's departure from the paper Tuesday. The real meat is in this Baltimore City Paper piece. Read the examples and decide. My verdict: too close for comfort, a few too many times.

Detroit Free-Press star columnist and "Tuesdays With Morrie" author Mitch Albom faced similar charges last year, but his editors declined to let him go. Here in Seattle-Tacoma, long-time Seattle Times business columnist Stephen Dunphy was forced out after an internal investigation revealed repeated instances of plagiarism. Tacoma New Tribune restaurant reviewer Bart Ripp left the paper after it was revealed he'd fabricated material, and tried to shake restaurateurs down for free meals in return for favorable reviews. This earlier Rosenblog post covers those debacles and few others, including that of the NYT's Rick Bragg.

Here, I wrote in detail about the fabulism and bias involved in Boston Globe correspondent Barbara Stewart's coverage of a controversial Canadian seal hunt. I also blogged the 2004 departure of USA Today's Jack Kelley for serial plagiarism and fabrication.

I take no particular joy in these sorts of ethical tumbles among mainstream journalists. I suppose it's convenient to be able to remind the few remaining, viscerally anti-blog denizens of the Fourth Estate that their own ranks are polluted. But the blogosphere depends on quality journalism as its raw material. Even as bloggers decry the very real failings of mainstream media, they're searching for online stories and columns they can supportively cite, to make their case on one or another of their own soapbox issues. More often than plagiarism or outright errors, the issue is questionable conclusions, omissions or bias. The best approach is tough love, and a little bit of humor doesn't hurt (see here, and here).

As a professional writer, here are my rules for paraphrasing other written material: Either directly attribute, or take several deep breaths, go tabula rasa, and re-phrase in your own words. The latter works better if you're drawing from several sources, not just one. In news and feature reporting, try to get your material from primary sources such as people, documents and direct observation. In commentary writing and blogging, the trick is clear attribution (links help reinforce this); and putting your own twist on what's already out there.

Language is like paint. Create your own picture.

TECHNORATI TAGS: OLESKER, PLAGIARISM, BALTIMORE SUN, BLOGS, WRITING, ATTRIBUTION

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at January 5, 2006 12:27 PM

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