Plagiarism at the Daily Northwestern
Romenesko picked up on an incident of plagiarism at the Daily Northwestern, a student newspaper at Northwestern University. The paper’s editor published a note about the incident:
Daily editors received an e-mail Monday evening from a former staffer
that suggested an article in Monday’s newspaper ("Traveling mechanic
rides to rescue of cyclists in need") was strikingly similar to a Daily
story printed March 3, 2004 ("Get your fix").
After
comparing the two articles and investigating the reporting behind
Monday’s story, written by freshman Tania Chen, we have concluded that
significant parts were plagiarized. For this reason, The Daily retracts
the story.
Both articles profiled Curtis Evans, an Evanston
resident who founded and operates the one-man cycle repair service We
Fix Bikes. The first five paragraphs of each story were almost
identical, and a total of five quotes were found to have been reused.
When
asked to explain the identical passages, Chen claimed that Evans had
given her the information but that the original article stated it more
clearly. She admitted to lifting some of the passages, but said Evans
restated two of the quotes – "I calculated that in a weekend …" and "I
look like a circus out there" – verbatim.
Evans told The Daily
the first quote was accurate in sentiment, but he could not remember
the precise wording; the second quote was a "stock line" he tends to
reuse. But he said he did not recall speaking to Chen about the bizarre
bike repair mentioned at the beginning of her article. Evans did,
however, confirm the three original quotes in Chen’s story.
Chen
said she had her interview with Evans on tape but that she had erased
it. Evans said Chen did not bring a tape recorder to their only
one-on-one interview.
The story was Chen’s first as a
development writer at The Daily, and editors informed her Monday night
that she no longer will be working for The Daily in any capacity…
What they’re doing to prevent future instances of plagiarism:
Beginning
today, all Daily staffers will have to read and sign an honor pledge
that defines plagiarism, describes its consequences and promises action
should a situation arise. Our news desk, which already meticulously
fact-checks each story, will increase its use of Internet search
engines and the Daily’s online archives to minimize the possibility of
plagiarism in the future.
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