One of the worst things that any writer can do is plagiarize another person’s work. It’s even worse when it comes from a seasoned reporter. Equally, it’s one of the worst things for a writer to be accused of.
Former New York Times editor and Wall Street Journal reporter Jill Abramson has been accused of copying several passages from other writers for her book Merchants of Truth: The Business of News and the Fight for Facts.
The book is an investigation into four news companies (The New York Times, The Washington Post, Buzzfeed, and Vice News) as it talks about the impact of technology on the press and the challenges these companies face regarding journalistic standards.
Accusations of plagiarism were first made by Vice reporter Michael C. Moynihan. After finding a factual error regarding a Vice colleague in the book, Moynihan noticed several passages that he felt were similar to articles written from other magazines. Moynihan posted his findings on Twitter. The tweets went viral shortly after.
*All three* chapters on Vice were clotted with mistakes. Lots of them. The truth promised in Merchants of Truth was often not true. While trying to corroborate certain claims, I noticed that it also contained…plagiarized passages.
— Michael C Moynihan (@mcmoynihan) February 6, 2019
This passage, on former Vice News editor Jason Mojica, is lifted from a 2010 Time Out magazine piece, with small modifications: https://t.co/csNoONZQhX pic.twitter.com/aiQzwKEStl
— Michael C Moynihan (@mcmoynihan) February 6, 2019
This example is from one source–the New Yorker again–though the two sentences are separated by a page.https://t.co/Ux6gdDO9Qg pic.twitter.com/m3dnsQaOmv
— Michael C Moynihan (@mcmoynihan) February 6, 2019
There’s lesser stuff too; still problematic. At various points in Merchants of Truth, rather than toil in the archives, reading old issues of the magazine or watching old Vice videos, Abramson liberally borrows from those who have: https://t.co/Ux6gdDO9Qg pic.twitter.com/mEvufhFJ3J
— Michael C Moynihan (@mcmoynihan) February 6, 2019
The book ends with a final wag of the finger, reminding me that my colleagues apparently don’t possess “the expertise to compete on the biggest news stories.” If Abramson is the arbiter of ethics & expertise, I think we’re doing just fine.
— Michael C Moynihan (@mcmoynihan) February 6, 2019
In an appearance on Fox News, Abramson has denied that she plagiarized anything and has promised to review some passages for errors. She has also responded on Twitter.
The attacks on my book from some @vicenews reflect their unhappiness with what I consider a balanced portrayal.
— Jill Abramson (@JillAbramson) February 7, 2019
Featured Image Via Wikipedia