Final Word from Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Even before Time and CNN decided to reinstate Fareed Zakaria
after what they called "unintentional" and "isolated" plagiarism or
a "journalistic lapse," Respekt made the wise decision to keep
running translations of his articles. Many people around the
world had called for harsher measures against Zakaria than a
mere suspension, such as the loss of his TV show and column,
but few asked whether it's fair to put such emphasis on just one
aspect of journalism. Should it be a greater "crime" to plagiarize
a few sentences than to intentionally misquote a source, take
something out of context, cover up essential information, write
fluff pieces for advertisers or take part in smear campaigns? If
Time Warner (and Respekt) had opted for a stricter punishment,
it would have tended to elevate plagiarism to the single biggest
journalistic crime, merely because search engines now make it
easier than the others to detect.[Czech Republic GPS Economia television]
Glossary of difficult words
lapse - a temporary failure of concentration, memory or judgment;
fluff piece - (informal) an unimportant news story, often that serves to glorify the subject;
to detect - to discover or identify the presence or existence of.