Today, numerous outlets reported on an episode of the print vs. online media saga in which a proud member of the old school misunderstood plagiarism, humility, and apparently the concept of a favor:
A writer was recently surprised to find that a piece she’d written about apple pies for a website in 2005 had been picked up wholesale by a small cooking magazine without anyone telling her…She asked for an apology on Facebook, a printed apology in the magazine and $130 donation to the Columbia School of Journalism.
Instead, the writer received a conceited response suggesting that she should, in fact, pay the magazine for taking the procedural steps to publish the piece. You can read part of the e-mail—which includes justifications such as “I have been doing this for 3 decades” and “the web is considered ‘public domain’”—at Consumerist.
I came across this story just this morning, from a click-through to the original author's writings on the matter. It's really quite sad that an editor feels they have the right to justify stealing content by asserting self-appointed Laws Of Copyright. Been at it for thirty years? What school of philosophy subscribes to those kinds of laws for thirty years?
There's a lot wrong with the editorial response: breaking the law to justify ignorance or corruption; perpetuating misconduct in relation to social media; and a queer over-reliance on the notion that an editor has more inherent authority on a subject over a writer who she has neither met nor conversed with.
#1 Posted by Aaron B., CJR on Fri 5 Nov 2010 at 12:42 PM
If you visit the website of the rude, obnoxious plagiarist magazine now, you will see they have succumbed to public pressure and completely caved in to universal opprobrium:
http://www.cookssource.com
"Last month an article, “American as Apple Pie -- Isn’t,” was placed in error in Cooks Source, without the approval of the writer, Monica Gaudio. We sincerely wish to apologize to her for this error, it was an oversight of a small, overworked staff. We have made a donation at her request, to her chosen institution, the Columbia School of Journalism."
#2 Posted by kanomi, CJR on Sun 14 Nov 2010 at 06:48 AM