The Australian Broadcasting Corporation airs a wonderful show called Media Watch. It operates with the slogan, “Everyone loves it until they’re on it.” Why, that’s good enough to steal for this site. But that would be unwise because Media Watch is very good at exposing plagiarists.
In early March, it aired a scathing seven minute report about Australian technology news journalist and publisher David Richards. It seems that a significant number of stories posted with his byline on his websites were been taken word-for-word from news outlets such as PC Magazine, the Daily Telegraph, etc.
When contacted by Media Watch, Richards explained that he had licensing agreements with publishers that enable him to use their copy. Media Watch then showed that to be false. So Richards offered another explanation:
We believe that a former employee who had access to our content engine has changed bylines, dates on stories and posted stories without our knowledge in an effort to discredit us.
Right. The story is called the “Phantom of the Internet” and it’s well worth a view. The transcript and video are here on the Media Watch site. YouTube is below. Seriously, watch it.
