I've been trying (and failing) to keep up with all that has been written on Jayson Blair, The New York Times and what this incident says about the journalism industry. What I'm left with is questions. So here's my list, broken into two categories: Plagiarism and Interviewing techniques.
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Plagiarism
Reporters get many ideas from other publications. Is it OK to do this if you duplicate the reporting, even if the story you produce looks similar to the original? Is it a matter of professional courtesy or honesty if you decide to mention to your readers or viewers that another newsroom has already published a story on the topic?
Is it OK for radio disk jockeys to read the morning newspaper on the air if they don't attribute it? What if they do attribute it, but don't get permission? Are disk jockeys journalists?
The wire services often take a story from a member newsroom, re-write the lede and put a wire byline on it. Then other newsrooms combine that information with their own stories, and attribute it (sometimes) to the wire service. Does this tell the reader or viewer where the information really came from?
Can you legitimately lift material from your newsroom's archives? Do you have to rework it? Is attribution necessary?
Is there a difference between plagiarizing your own clips and relying on the same phrases and descriptions over and over?
Interviewing techniques
Is it OK to take quotes from an Internet chat room without permission? What if you don't use the names, but merely tell readers or viewers the circumstances of the statement?
When you interview sources via e-mail, are you giving them a privilege you don't afford other sources, namely the ability to see their quotes in writing?
When doing man-on-the-street stuff, should you ask for phone numbers? Addresses? How do you verify you really did the interview?
If you interview a source several times, is it important to tell readers or viewers that some quotes surfaced during one interview and others during a different interview?
What's an acceptable fact-checking system for reporters? Do you call every source back and check every detail? Do you have a greater responsibility to sources that aren't media savvy?
[ What do you think? What other questions should we be asking? ]
A couple of comments: Using background from a previous article...
