#4 Plagiarism and Fabrication

 A Fragile Trust

Plagiarism and fabrication, are two terms that equal a lie, and two terms constantly circulating in today's society. "Fabrication is the falsification of information while plagiarism is taking another author's work and passing it off as your own. Plagiarism, in short, is a misdeed that lacks originality while fabrication is one that has too much originality and takes liberties with the truth".  In journalism, the term plagiarism is considered one of the primary sins of the profession. The consequence journalists are facing if they get caught using plagiarism in their work is losing their jobs and/or facing legal actions. It is unethical within the field of journalism because it can be seen as a form of theft. By taking the ideas and words from other authors and pretending they are your own, it means that you are stealing that person's intellectual property. 

Plagiarism can be found in schools, in students' homework and essays, and within the media society. Some cases gets not as much recognition, while others gets a lot of recognition. One scandal to be found in the media world when it comes to plagiarism and fabrication is the scandal of Jayson Blair, 47, a former reporter for The New York Times, and the most infamous serial plagiarist of our time. 

It was in 2003 that Blair was caught plagiarizing works by other reporters and supplementing his own reporting with details that were fabricated. This was done in not just one story, but in dozens of different stories that were published in the Times. The times' journalists found that the reporter committed frequent acts of journalistic fraud as he covered important news events. This situation of widespread fabrication and plagiarism was representing a profound betrayal of trust and a low point in the 152-year history of the newspaper. 

Blair misled the readers with dispatches that purported to be from Maryland, Texas, and other states, when often he was far away, in New York. The reporter fabricated comments, concocted scenes, lifted material from other newspapers and wire services, and selected details from photographs to make it look like he had been somewhere or seen someone when in reality he did not. Blair used these techniques to be able to write falsely about emotionally charged in recent history, from the deadly sniper attacks in suburban Washington to the anguish of families grieving for loved ones killed in Iraq. A reporter at the San Antonio Express-News recognized similarities with Blair's article and a reporter from their own news agency and a few days later Blair resigned from The New York Times. 

At the time of the scandal, The New York Times was the premiere newspaper in the United States and such a scandal had a major impact not just on The Times, but also on journalism as a whole. The Times created the position of public editor which was meant to be an editor where the public could address the concerns in the newsroom. If this idea would have been brought up earlier within the newspaper company, the possibility of Blair being stopped earlier would have been very big. 

Cases of plagiarism and fabrication in media is still being recognized and it is a big problem within the media field. The companies can lose trust from their audience and get a worse reputation. Personally I am not a fan of plagiarism and believe that it is a problem that needs to be solved sooner than later.