Observer reviews, articles contained duplicated sentences
Charlotte Observer, 12/18/2012
At first I thought that the paper (or writer) had unintentionally printed the same sentence twice. You know: in a row.
But no.
A freelance writer who wrote theater reviews and articles for the
Observer from 2009 until this month repeated paragraphs from other
publications in about a third of the articles she wrote for the
Observer.
Okay, a couple of things:
1) It took three years to figure this out?
2) Who wrote this correction? No one -- not even "Charlotte Observer Staff" -- is willing to take attribution.
a) Detritus Review Reader Challenge! Can you rearrange this sentence to be less clear? I don't think I can.
b) "[A] third" is dreadful. In what writing guide, editorial style sheet, or first-year freshman composition course is "one-third" not merely preferred but mandated as correct?
c) I would either use "[month] 2009 until this month" or "2009-12" (you can quibble about "2009-2012" if you like, but even though most newspapers are read electronically, AP style still places a premium on column-inches and prefers any truncated form as long as clarity is maintained).
These duplications violate the Observer’s ethical guidelines and
contractual agreements with freelancers, which require that writers
produce original material.
Look, I'm not out to cast aspersions on this writer, the name of whom I will omit. But let's not be afraid to use the word "plagiarism" when it's appropriate. In fact, one could argue that this is precisely the case for which the use of that particular word is reserved.
In the Observer’s review in April 2012 of “Stomp” at the Blumenthal
Performing Arts Center’s Belk Theater, 13 of 16 sentences were the same
as sentences in a review published in MIT’s The Tech in 2001. Among
other reviews with duplicated paragraphs:...
Blah blah blah.
In some cases, the writer repeated a distinctive phrase from another
publication; in others she duplicated multiple paragraphs verbatim.
At first I was all like Jebus! at least plagiarize from Tommasini or Kosman or someone who knows how to, you know, write sentences and stuff (not that The Tech is terrible, but: come on!).
Figure 1: Kyle: Jimmy, exactly what part of the fishsticks joke did Cartman write?
Jimmy: Well, he didn't actually write... any of it.
Kyle: Let me guess: you came up with the joke, and Cartman sat on the couch eating Twizzlers?
Jimmy: Actually, it was potato chips.
Jimmy: Well, he didn't actually write... any of it.
Kyle: Let me guess: you came up with the joke, and Cartman sat on the couch eating Twizzlers?
Jimmy: Actually, it was potato chips.
But then I was all like, hey! that's clever, since no one will ever figure it out--it's not like the entire internet is archived and accessible via a full-text sear...oh, wait.
The writer, [redacted-ed.], also repeated paragraphs verbatim in three
articles in two Observer-owned magazines, SouthPark Magazine and Lake
Norman.
I...wait. SouthPark Magazine?
Coincidence? or an hilarious coincidence?
[The writer] apologized and said the duplicated sentences were unintentional.
"I totally meant to replace the paragraphs I pasted in from other reviews with original material, and simply forgot to do it, repeatedly, over a three-year span. For this I am sorry."
Figure 2: Perhaps the oversight was due to a wide editorial stance.
In the end, what's important here is that editorial oversight works, albeit sometimes slowly, and-
The similarities in the reviews came to the Observer’s attention through
a reader who saw one of Bell’s reviews, searched on the Internet for
other reviews of the same show and discovered several duplicated
paragraphs. The reader called the Observer last week. That call prompted
an examination...[the writer] is no longer writing for any Observer publication.
The Charlotte Observer crowdsourced their editorial oversight?*
*What's more, it's late 2012 and the Blogger spellchecker doesn't know the word "crowdsourced." Isn't this thing run by The Google?
Oh, well done, sirs. Well done indeed.
Merry Christmas. Please enjoy this topical, holiday-themed pop culture reference that has little or nothing to do with the above.
Figure 3: John McClane:
You throw quite a party. I didn't realize they celebrated Christmas in Japan.
Joseph Takagi : Hey, we're flexible. Pearl Harbor didn't work out so we got you with tape decks.
Joseph Takagi : Hey, we're flexible. Pearl Harbor didn't work out so we got you with tape decks.