An investigation by the FM has revealed that certain sections of the article “Dilemma about horns”, which was part of the magazine’s cover story titled “War on rhinos” in the September 9 edition of the magazine, were copied from a Bloomberg Businessweek article titled “Saving the rhino through sacrifice” written by Brendan Borrell and published on December 9 2010.
Following the investigation, a staff member, who failed to attribute the material from the Bloomberg Businessweek article, has left the employ of the FM.
The material submitted by Richard Slater-Jones, the main author of the rhino articles, is in no way implicated in this matter.
The FM unreservedly apologises to Bloomberg Businessweek and to Mr Borrell. The FM also apologises to its readers for failing to identify that this material was copied from Bloomberg Businessweek.
The FM does not under any circumstances condone or approve of its staff members copying material from other publications or sources without attributing the original material. It is contrary to the publication’s code of conduct and the ethics of the journalism profession.

Journalism.co.za has more background on the theft, reporting that Financial Mail associate editor Sharda Naidoo is the staffer in question. The site got comment from Naidoo:

“Unfortunately, as a result of the legal options that I am considering, I have been advised that it may jeopardise my possible legal claims to respond fully regarding the circumstances that led to my resignation.

“The last few months have been the most distressing of my career. Unfortunately, internal processes at BDFM have been unable to manage and resolve the situation, and I was left with no alternative but to tender my resignation.

“I have always aspired to the highest journalistic standards and believe my work has lived up those standards.

“I am very grateful, however, for the support I have had and continue to enjoy from my former colleagues at the Financial Mail and BDFM, and other members of the media community.”

The Mails’ offending story (or apology) isn’t online as far as I can tell, but here’s the Businessweek story.

Your brief report relating to me under “Comings and goings” (FM Fox May 2) is inaccurate in a number of respects:
I did not resign from the board of Woolworths Holdings. I have not at any stage been a director of that company;
I in fact resigned from the board of Pick n Pay Stores Ltd;I stepped down from the board of Allan Gray Property Trust in May 2007, when control of that company was acquired by the Standard Bank Group; and I do not still sit on the boards of more than 10 companies.
The only accurate statements contained in the note are the fact that I still sit on the boards of Aspen and Sun International, and the picture is a reasonable likeness!
David Nurek, Cape Town
The FM regrets the error.