Members Respond on the subject of plagiarism:

When Wendy Zang asked for help on the listserve,
here's what some other youth editors had to say on the topic...

Kathy Miedema, formerly of TX at the Standard-Examiner, Ogden, Utah, now with the San Jose Mercury News:

"I've heard some people here blaming the teachers, asking what the heck they're teaching teens/young adults these days. Having graduated not that long ago, I think that's very unfair.

My husband thinks that the same ambition in young people that editors look for is what drives this - they're going to succeed, no matter what it takes to get them there. The possibility of crashing and burning never seems to occur to the most ambitious.

It's interesting that there is this rash of violating cardinal rules...Young people aren't that naive. Are they?"

Lorraine Welsch, Next Generation, Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale:

"What I find is that some of my kids don't do things with malicious intent, it's just that when they do research on the Web, they don't quite understand why copying something over from cyberspace is the same as copying it out of a library book. With the Internet, you need to explain to them that the same rules apply, and that they need to take what they glean from the Net with a grain of salt and weigh the source, as there are no editors in cyberspace."

Lifting another's work lacks creativity or integrity, two key elements to a career in journalism.

Carol Robidoux, Reality, Bucks County Courier Times, Levittown, Pa.:

"... The whole point of writing is to create, to explore ideas, to spin old information in new and interesting ways for smart readers. Lifting another's work lacks creativity or integrity, two key elements to a career in journalism - if that's what she has aspired to. Let her know that if her heart truly isn't in it to start exploring other vocations now."

Wendy La Rue, formerly of My Line and it!, The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va.:

"Plagiarism is the number one no-no for journalists. I'd be inclined to invite the child and her parents in to meet with you and your ME, personnel person or someone like that. Put the stories on the table, point out how unlikely it is that two people would think the exact same thoughts and say that you can no longer use the girl's services, since she has broken the sacred rule of the trade.

"I'd be sure to point out how she compromised the paper by knowingly violating copyright law and how lucky she is that the paper isn't going to sue her parents (or her, if your state allows suits against minors) for the breech of contract."

Erin Orr, Buzzz, Modesto (Calif.) Bee:

"She needs to know that what she's done is unethical, unprofessional and completely akin to cheating on an exam at school. You may want to stress that at the college level, that can get her expelled - also akin to being fired. Tell her that you would do the exact same with any of your professional writers, that her being an amateur earns her no slack. And you may want to tell her that when in the job market as an adult, such actions can even result in legal action (lawsuits, etc.)."

There is one absolutely unforgivable cardinal sin among journalists, and that is stealing someone else's work.

Tom Szaroleta, The Moose, Post Register, Idaho Falls, Idaho:

"I'd tell her that there is one absolutely unforgivable cardinal sin among journalists, and that is stealing someone else's work. The best of us spell somebody's name wrong now and then, or are too lazy to call one more source to fill out a story. But plagiarism is cheating, stealing and lying all rolled into one and absolutely will not be tolerated."

Guy Coviello, Page One, Tribune-Chronicle, Warren, Ohio:

"This happened to me last year with a columnist I put on the staff. He sent me a humor column and asked to join. It was a great column, but I said to send me a couple more so that I could make a better assessment. He sent me two more good ones, so I brought him on the staff. His e-mails even impressed me because he would write things there that would make me laugh, and I knew they were original because we were conversing.

We even took him out to take pictures for a logo to run with his column. The first column ran, and it was a big hit. Everybody laughed. The second column ran, and one of our reporters said he remembered reading that before but wasn't sure where. Then he found a Web site that contained that story verbatim.

I confronted the kid, who tried to lie his way out of it by saying he is part of that Web site and they write their columns under fictitious names so that's why his name wasn't there. I called the number listed on the site and talked to the person who actually wrote that column, and he as well as everybody else contributing to the stuff on the site use their real names.

The kid finally admitted to copying the story. He gave me a song-and-dance about his parents breaking up and the pressure of trying to duplicate the success of the first column which he claims is original.

I fired him, then had a meeting with the rest of the staff to explain what happened. We told the real author of the column, what had happened and offered to re-run the column with his byline. He understood and agreed to have a correction box that said who should have been credited with the story."