The Blogging Journalist

Canadian Publisher Suspends Star Columnist For Plagiarism

Paul MacNeill, Publisher of The Eastern and Western Graphic newspapers on Canada's Prince Edward Island gave columnist Jack MacAndrew a three month suspension after bloggers pointed out that his December 20, 2006, column -- "Tips for Proper Etiquette at the Holiday Buffet Table" -- contained material that had been on the Internet for years. See "Publisher hands MacAndrews three-month suspension." MacNeill told his readers on December 29, 2006:

Questions have been raised about Jack MacAndrew’s December 20 column. The body of the column contains a listing of 10 excesses that should be enjoyed at Christmas. It is largely similar to an article making the rounds of the Internet for years.

Jack MacAndrew admits the column material originated from an e-mail. He admits that he rewrote portions of that e-mail and included it in his column. He admits he failed to credit where the material originated.

On January 3, 2007, the Graphic papers published "A letter from Jack MacAndrew, in which he explained how he came to be a plagiarist.

Paul Collin's 'Dead Plagiarists Society'

Slate's Paul Collins posted an interesting item on November 21, 2006, headlined "Dead Plagiarists Society." The Subhead: "Will Google Book Search uncover long-buried literary crimes?"

Collins wrote: "For any plagiarist living in an age of search engines, waving a loaded book in front of reviewers has become the literary equivalent of suicide by cop."

The same for bloggers. If we use someone else's word, we should put them in quotes and credit them. Of course, some of us forget. Others are just plain thieves.