Bristol Press and Courant duke it out in columns

THE FOLLOWING IS A RICK GREEN COLUMN IN THE COURANT OVER THE LAST WEEKEND

COMMENTS FROM READERS FOLLOW

Gotcha! Press/Herald editor Smith takes a swing at his old paper
By Rick Green on August 23, 2009 7:58 PM | Comments (42)  After running through Gombossygate, Press/Herald Executive Editor Jim Smith makes a more grave charge about the Courant:

Please. Jim knows as well as anyone that TV, radio, small and big papers and the AP have been doing this for years. It’s obnoxious and you should attribute what you use, but to pretend that the Courant has all of a sudden started on a plagiarism binge is pretty silly.

By christine on August 23, 2009 11:00 PM
You may want to talk to your legal department Monday. I believe it’s called Fair Use and you will be receiving some cease and desist orders. In case you want to check in with the guy you hired specifically to steal copy, he sits next to David Owens.

By Rick Green on August 24, 2009 6:53 AM
The legal department is in Chicago. Or is it Bangalore? If I had a nickel for every time a radio news reader, TV talking head or lazy blogger reprinted my reporting I wouldn’t be sitting in a cubicle on Broad Steet at 6:51 in the morning. Just leave the cease and desist order on my front porch. OK?

By ctkeith on August 24, 2009 7:46 AM
Rick,
Your defense that “everybody does it” is something most of us start teaching our children at age 2 or 3 is no defense at all.

P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C

By Rick Green on August 24, 2009 7:50 AM
Thanks for reading ctkeith. I’ve missed you. I was hoping someone would stand up for the kids.

By ctkeith on August 24, 2009 9:01 AM
Rick,

I doubt you could document two bits,at a nickle a pop, worth of people reprinting your work.

If your statement is true,show us.

By Rick Green on August 24, 2009 9:04 AM
ctkeith, I love you man, because you are reading the paper online. We need you and the kids need you. Stop by Broad Street anytime.

By Beau on August 24, 2009 9:48 AM
OK, so you’ve dismissed ctkeith without really addressing his first point: saying that “everybody does it” is not sufficient to justify plagiarism or to address charges of it.

The Courant is the state’s paper of record, and as the newspaper business changes, it is trying new things to survive. Last year, one of those new things was to contact bloggers for permission to reprint their work in the Sunday opinion section without compensation. Some bloggers believed that the exposure was compensation enough, but you can count me among those who feel that the Courant should pay writers for their work.

This year, it sounds like a new thing the Courant is trying may be reprinting the work of other writers without compensation or permission. And since the Courant isn’t the only struggling paper in the state, it’s no surprise that they’re getting called out on it.

Plagiarism is a serious charge to make, and I don’t think that it’s one Jim Smith would make without good reason.

By Rick Green on August 24, 2009 9:55 AM
Beau,
I didn’t dismiss. I said this is not a new problem. In 1987 I used to get pissed when the local radio station in Middletown read my stories on the air without attribution. It’s been going on forever and not part of some new Courant business plan. That doesn’t make it OK, but it’s important to have context here. And really, do you think the Courant is the only effort not paying bloggers? Please. I do know that if you want to actually write something, with sources, I can put you in contact with an editor. We still pay for freelance work.

By Dave on August 24, 2009 10:10 AM
Rick:
Just wondering, if the Herald advertised in the Courant would you still be criticizing Mr. Smith?

By Rick Green on August 24, 2009 10:13 AM
Check my clips, Super Dave. I think the lottery is a state-sanctioned rip-off of the poor and disadvantaged. They are an advertiser. Thanks for wondering.

By Beau on August 24, 2009 10:28 AM
No, I do not believe that the Courant is the only paper not paying bloggers. However, last summer I was contacted by the Courant about publishing content from my blog (which has been mostly dormant for the past year) without compensation or any input as to what content was selected for publication.

I declined the offer. The problem that I had with it is that the Courant was reaching out to bloggers for free content at a time when it was firing writers. To wit, the blog content that was published for a few months last year ran on the same page that former reader representative Karen Hunter’s column ran on.

I appreciate the offer about putting me in touch with an editor, but I’m not sure whether I’m qualified to “actually write” anything.

By ctkeith on August 24, 2009 10:33 AM
Rick,

I have no intention of coming to Broad Street untill they announce the liguidation sale(I could use a new desk,Perhaps I’ll buy yours).

Now,

What your employer is being accused of is exactly what your saying isn’t happening (It’s been going on forever and not part of some new Courant business plan.)

Christine even gave you directions to where the person who has been doing this sits(next to David Owens).

My guess is that,believe it or not,there are people at the Courant that are every bit as upset as those at the JI and probably tipped them off,or at least confirmed, what was going on.

It’s really a shame,but not suprising, that instead of backing that contingent and letting management know you find plagerism offensive you chose to encourage it with a nod and a so what.

By Connecticut Man1 on August 24, 2009 11:26 AM
You know, when I use someone’s material in quotes I acknowledge the source of the material. How would the Courant feel if I stole your material and did not acknowledge you as the source? Material released on YouTube does not release you from the ethical obligation of sourcing your material. Open Source does not imply a free for all. And just because MSNBC did the same thing as you did, it does not make it right if you repeat the offense. Fair use is only fair use if you attribute it.

While I appreciate the sentiment in the article(Disruptive Behavior Makes Dialogue Difficult – http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-disruptive-town-hall.art.artaug10,0,486665.story ), I believe your journalistic ethics may leaving something to be desired.

Even if, at the very least, your paper had credited the material to My Left Nutmeg I could have let that theft of my material, the news I produced and documented, go without comment since I have a stake in the success of MLN’s commitment to citizen journalism and agree with many of their activist causes and, also, because I am a member there and that particular material was made available by myself to them.

Stephen Herron
aka: Connecticut Man1

ePluribus Media
drinking liberally in new milford

 
By Kirby on August 24, 2009 12:14 PM
I just finished grading papers in my course at a regional college. The final project consisted of a word-for-word transcription of a document from the CDC, without attribution.

So I guess I should give the student an A because it was well written, and just ignore the transgression because “everybody does it”? Did you get your journalism degree from the bottom of a Cracker Jacks box?

By Rick Green on August 24, 2009 12:51 PM
Thanks professor. In your haste to insult me, you missed my point, which was about context. I don’t think this is OK. I think that this is an old, old problem that is not a function of recent management changes at the Courant. The degree is from Northwestern, not Cracker Jack.

By Rick Green on August 24, 2009 1:00 PM
Thanks for writing Stephen. I don’t know what you are talking about. The link in your post is not something I wrote. Feel free to call me. 241-6483.

By Rick Green on August 24, 2009 1:02 PM
I’ll shoot you an email when layoff day comes, as I’m sure it will. But you don’t want my desk. It’s not any good. Best wishes, Rick.

By Lisa Backus on August 24, 2009 1:13 PM
Dear Rick, I beg to differ that this is an old problem. Yes, all media outlets tend to grab each other’s stuff – especially on deadline. However, this recent development started with one particular reporter who is putting his bylines on what are essentially MY stories – word for word. By anyone’s standards, that’s plagiarism. At the very least I would expect that any journalist would check the story out by calling the sources mentioned in the article and then writing their own copy. Several of your reporters do that and I have no problem with that, and truthfully do it myself when the need arises. The other option is simply using the AP version without a byline. Using “The Herald reported” as attribution after every sentence is simply lazy, shoddy journalism. But dropping the attribution altogether by the time it makes print is deliberately misleading. I agree with Jim Smith (and not because he’s my boss), plagiarism used to be a fireable offense. Apparently now under your new regime it’s a business tactic.

By Rick Green on August 24, 2009 1:26 PM
Thanks Lisa for your response. If you call me, I’ll see what I can do. 241-6483.

By CTRocks on August 24, 2009 3:43 PM
Kirby you can give your student FD. Failure with Dishonesty.

This article was written by Darcy Wintonyk, ctvbc.ca

“It used to be that the worst grade you could receive in school was an F, and that was bad enough….Simon Fraser University..Introduced a grade of FD—Meaning failure with dishonesty..Dr Rob Gondon says the new grado=ing is intended to curtail cheating using the internet”
By CtRocks on August 24, 2009 3:56 PM
“Check my Clips, SuperDave. I Think the Lottery is a state-sanctioned rip-off of the poor and disadvantaged. They are an Advertisers.”

The Lottery is not on the top advertiser’s list, nor is it State agency but quisi public agency just like CHFA, CRRA and Connecticut Innovations, Inc.

By Connecticut Man1 on August 24, 2009 4:00 PM

The article was written “by the Hartford Courant” and they have the gaul to put a copyright at the bottom. Perhaps I should have been clearer in my criticism.

There is material in there that could only have come from my documentation of the event – as there was nobody else there actually paying attention to the rantings and ravings of the “Dump Dodd” wackos. At that point in time the “traditional media” were already all inside getting quotes from Dodd, DeLauro, etc.:

“How come we don’t just give Chris Dodd painkillers? Like a handful of them at a time! He can wash it down with Ted Kennedy’s whiskey…!”

There is more to the failures of the Courant than simply what they are reporting. At times it is what they refuse to report, as well.

*If*, by some slim chance, the Hartford Courant actually documented it when it happened, why would they not report on it after the event but they did report on it days later after that video made the national news and most of the the Big Box Blogs? Highly doubtful that they actually documented it, but if they did that would still raise a whole other slew of questions on the ethics of their reporting, as well.

The source material of the quotes in question: http://discuss.epluribusmedia.net/content/i-guess-my-dodd-protesters-video-going-viral

By Rick Green on August 24, 2009 4:09 PM
Could be it’s not just us., my friend.The state Democratic party put out a release with those quotes in them. That’s how I heard about it all. Good job on your video though.

By Rick Green on August 24, 2009 4:10 PM
When you have a moment, send me the advertisers list. I haven’t seen it.

By CTRocks on August 24, 2009 4:16 PM

Connecticut Man 1 the same guy in your clip is the same guy in the clip Rick posted from congres man Murphy’s supermarket meeting in Simsbury. It funny how the same guy yelling in your clip also is the same guy yelling in Simsbury meeting.

By CTRocks on August 24, 2009 4:26 PM
Rick,

The list of the top advertisers can be found at George’s site CTWATCHDOG.COM
By Rick Green on August 24, 2009 4:27 PM
Like I said, I’ve never been shown one here. You can’t believe everything you read, you know.

By CTRocks on August 24, 2009 4:28 PM
Rick,

The list of the top advertisers can be found at George’s site CTWATCHDOG.COM
If the Courrant blocked the access to his website from you then wait till you get home. LOL

By Connecticut Man1 on August 24, 2009 4:33 PM
“Could be it’s not just us, my friend.”

“They did it, too” is not an acceptable argument in a court of law. Otherwise murder, bank robberies and muggings would have long ago been made legal.

CTRocks: “the same guy in your clip is the same guy in the clip Rick posted from congres man Murphy’s supermarket meeting in Simsbury.”

Yep. Out manufacturing opposition in the 5th district when he lives in another part of the state. He is also a “birther”. Dudes job appears to be to go from place to place to picket and howl at the moon. But I’ll leave freeper “Race Bannon”‘s real name out of the discussion because he is more a symptom of the real disease.

By CtRocks1 on August 24, 2009 4:34 PM
I can’t type the whole list in here. It’s too long. Also I’m longtime reader of the Couranrt over 20 years and I beleive the list since they are all the advertisers that I see every day in the Courant.

By CTRocks on August 24, 2009 4:43 PM
Connecticut Man 1,
It is always funny when you watch the “birthers” and the ones always yelling in the townhall meeting they talk the same way line by line, but if you ask then simple question out of their talking points they don’t have any clue. You should see the clips from John Stewart talking to Betsy McCaughey, she brought big binder and didn’t have clue what was in it.

By Rick Green on August 24, 2009 4:46 PM
OK please keep reading.

By x-man on August 24, 2009 5:29 PM
Courtant’s leading advertisers

Sound Playground
Lechmere’s
G. Fox
Crazy Eddie
Bradlee’s
Circuit City
Caldor’s
Grantmoor Motel

need I say more

By Megatron on August 24, 2009 5:35 PM
Courant’s top advertisers
Sound Playground
Ruby Vine’s stores
Circuit City
G. Fox
Sage allen
Crazy Eddie’s
Caldor’s
Grantmoor Motel
Hartford Whalers

need we say more

By Rick Green on August 24, 2009 5:39 PM
Dude what decade do you live in?

By CTRocks on August 24, 2009 7:55 PM
Courant’s top advertiser’s if you want to talk about good old days.

Texaco
Dairy Mart
Roy Rogers
Hartford Whalers
Wawa
And also the list above that was posted by Megatron and x-man.

By Paul Killoran on August 24, 2009 8:00 PM
Dear Mr. Green,You suggest new and even higher standards for law enforcement when interviewing suspects who may be overborne during interrogation. 8/18/09 HC.
Perhaps you could apply some journalistic standard that does not involve plagiarism. Not too much to ask I should think even for a Northwestern Grad. By the way, to be a journalist you need a; A Pulse B Drivers License C Typewriter D Another Newspaper. Perhaps Mike Barnacle formerly of the Boston Globe could give you the answers. Regards Paul.

By CTRocks on August 24, 2009 8:25 PM
Like John Stewart said “I like you, but I don’t understand how your brain works”. I like the Hartford Courant but I don’t understand how they operate any more.

By Rick Green on August 24, 2009 9:04 PM
Glad to see you are a reader. Stay in touch.

By Megatron on August 24, 2009 11:07 PM
21st century man
— point of list is that it is too late to suck up to advertisers now when these cash cows are long out of the barn.
– it is not the 20th century when you and your brethren received huge year-end bonuses thanks to these benefactors…
it is famine time for metro dailies.
Can’t rewrite stories too long and fool anybody…even Luce eventually had to hire reporters at Time magazine.
Rather than have my scorn for the paper’s unbridled arrogance in its misery you have my sympathy.
so it goes, amigo

By Steve Collins on August 25, 2009 9:45 AM
Rick,
I wrote a blog entry last month detailing one example of the kind of theft we’ve been seeing. I truly don’t think you’d argue that it’s legitimate. Here’s the link:
http://bristolnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/courants-slipping-standards-made-clear.html

By CTRocks12 on August 25, 2009 10:11 AM
Steve Collis,
Thanks for pointing this out. I’m speachless I don’t even know what to say, like I said before if this was college paper thay would get “FD …. Failure with Dishonesty”