Press Releases and Plagiarism

 by Donna M. Carbone/freelance writer and owner of Write For You, LLC

When I write an article based on something I have seen in the newspaper or heard on the television, I always credit the source. For example, if I am using data from an Associated Press article, I will say, “According to an article by AP Reporter (whoever) in the (publication)…” and I will set that information off in quotes and often italicize it. Taking credit for someone else’s work is never acceptable, especially when the only effort put into a report is the use of the cut and paste tools in the Microsoft Word program.

Plagiarism is rampant in all aspects of society from the academic work to the internet, where there are few safeguards to protect a writer. This is more than “just” the appropriation of someone else’s thoughts and words; it is outright theft and is pursuable in a court of law. Unfortunately, the burden of proof really is a burden and really is hard to prove, so most cases go unchallenged. When discovered, the most we can hope for is that a knowing reader will question the writer’s character and (lack of) integrity and spread the word.

The Columbia Journalism Review (1983) published a study in which it was reported that approximately 50% of all articles in the Wall Street Journal had come from press releases. The Journal would take credit for the report by publishing it verbatim under a staff reporter’s byline. (The old cut and paste technique.)

Allow me to reiterate what was written above. The study was published in 1983 – twenty eight years ago. At the time, plagiarism was estimated at 50%.  Does anyone believe the practice has become less prevalent? Just because something is done over and over again doesn’t make it right, but repetition seems to have anesthetized the little guy sitting on our shoulders who goes by the name of “Conscience.” One definition of conscience found in Webster’s Dictionary is: “the part of the superego in psychoanalysis that transmits commands and admonitions to the ego.”

If I understand this correctly, the ego and the superego go to war with each other. The ego arms itself with denial, while the superego’s strength is found in an individual’s definitions of right and wrong.

The superego barrages the ego with guilt in an attempt to conquer its less than noble goals; but the ego, believing it can “get away with it,” is unstoppable and eventually decimates the superego, banishing conscience forever.

The world seems to grow less concerned with morals and ethics with each passing year. Is it increased competition and the quest for the almighty dollar that has made unconscionable behavior the norm? Or… is it the use of social media that has caused us to adopt unprincipled behavior? Has Facebook made us faceless? Have MySpace and Twitter returned us to the days of the caveman, when a sturdy club was all that was needed to get what we wanted?

In researching this article, I came across a very worthwhile post on the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism website: http://cronkite.asu.edu/about/plagiarism.php

Be sure to take a few minutes to read and educate yourself. To summarize, here is part of the article, which applies to this topic.

“Press releases are a common way for journalists to get information. A good reporter will use the press release as a starting point, going on to do his own reporting and gathering his own quotes.  If you do use information from a press release, however, the rules of attribution apply.”

When a reporter with a byline picks up my press releases and uses them word for word as his/her own, I find it both rage inducing and flattering. Obviously, if someone is willing to take credit for my work, I must be a good writer.

There are times, however, after seeing my words accredited to another author, when I actually feel physically beaten – as though that reporter has taken his/her computer and “clubbed” me over the head. I often want revenge, but then I remember these words, by Walter Cronkite. They are a excerpt from a 1996 interview with Kira Albin:

Albin: How do you want to be remembered?

Cronkite: Oh, as a fellow who did his best. I'd like to be remembered as a person who tried to give the news as impartially, as factually, as possible, and succeeded most of the time.

Me, too.