Continuous Impact Of Internet On Journalism

In the cyberspace world that grows on a daily basis, the importance of a journalist continues to grow just like technological inventions. Cyberspace, a word created by science fiction writer in 1984, William Gibson, was used to illustrate a new university in which the computer and communication lines were connected. This virtual world created a revolution of pure information. However, is that so?

Vennevar Bush explained in his piece, “As We May Think,” that the use of science and new instrument was directly connected to the control we gave someone over their material environment. With increased knowledge, this freedom has led to an increased view of the life as it is. Mental health was corrected, or so he thought. A record of ideas could be created in which would help guide the gradual improvement within individuals. This was long before the invention of the computer, however the thoughts and ideologies of Bush were directly connected to that of the Internet and it's overall impact on society and journalism as a whole.

He believed that the hardest part of the technology would be the ability to make use of it. Until this day, every industry especially the media one, is working towards using the Internet to its greatest advantage. While newsrooms and publications continue to use the web to further their readership, a new form of journalism i.e. online media was created. The creation of the Internet also changed research for journalists. Google and other search engines have made researching nearly anything as simple as 1...2.... click. This increased use of various texts has made the importance of a plagiarism check more important. Thus, the creation of a program in which I have highlighted in detail in my last blog entries, would ultimately be a benefit for the media system as a whole.

Norbert Wiener said:

"Society can only be understood through a study of the messages and the communication facilities which belong to it, and that in the future development of these messages and communication facilities, messages between man and machines, between machines and man, and between machine and machine, are destined to play an ever increasing part."

It is with this understanding through pictures and messages that web journalists are working to deeply comprehend. Cybernetics, a word created meaning to steer, is deeply interested in the limits of various communication mediums. This study should be of great concern for journalists in their understanding of the greatest use of the Internet and furthering their content, readership, etc.

Consistent patterns can drive trends in presenting information online. Whether one works for a corporation or freelance, the Internet is the most powerful tool to understand. Study it for what it is, and use it to your advantage. The public domain can be kept in the citizen's hands with the help and dedication of any one individual.

Staying true to my topic, here are some links to news about plagiarism:
PU to launch awareness drive against plagiarism
Ohio U. Revokes Degree For Plagiarism
Students sue over plagiarism software

Digital Divide And Plagiarism

The issue of the Digital Divide can relate to that of online journalists as well. When computers first came onto the horizon, old-school journalists hoarded their typewriters with resistance towards the new PC. While many of these indivdiuals have conformed, there are still a few that are anti-Internet. Many of the old timers have realized the positive effect on one's publication's revenues due to the Internet. The Internet may be the best and the worst thing to happen to Journalism in the last 20 years. The best, because of its influence, on interactivity with readers and the worst, because of the digital divide that it creates.

My program that monitors plagiarism may encourage old timers to actually use the software via the Internet and get themselves online. This program is revolutionary and helpful in watching multitudes of clips (most often from old timers) that are watched for Internet copy predators. The Digital Divide that exists can have two effects on plagiarism via the Internet - 1. keep many individuals in society ignorant of the practices and how to use text on the Internet when they finally get online and 2. keep plagiarism at a steady pace without the entry of new Internet browsers.


Recent Plagiarism News:
Technology Sniffs Out Student Plagiarism
Plagiarism In Journalism

Intellectual Property Law

The 1998 Digital Millenium Copyright Act is a large step for intellectual property. The bill was signed into law by President Bill Clinton and attempts to protect copyright of various intellectual outlets. This law attempts to fight down piracy in the form of music, copyrighted materials (includes articles, feeds, clips) as well as movie and software. At the time of this implementation, the Internet wasn't as large or as powerful as it is today. However, this Act has had a large impact on the doings of many artists, writers and designers that publish on the Web.

According to San Diego Business Law Firm, intellectual property is.....

a creation of the intellect that has commercial value, including copyrighted property such as literary or artistic works, and ideational property, such as patents, appellations of origin, business methods, and industrial processes.

While this law helps to fight back, it doesn't protect the use of information within writing works, or the exploitation of such writing in any form. Plagiarism isn't mentioned and isn't protected in this Act. For journalists, this is crushing and very disturbing. Writers must be guaranteed protection of the work they create. The program that I have proposed that monitors use of the words or materials within one's articles and/or clips would do just that.

RECENT PLAGIARISM NEWS IN THE PAPERS

A mayorial candidate in Dallas, Darrell Jordan, has allegedly lifted entire sections of other people's work to create "The Darrell Jordan Crime Reduction Plan" and "The Darrell Jordan Accountability Pledge & Plan of Action." He claims he used other's ideas and incorporate successful ones into his own work.

However, a former U.S. representative from Colorado, Bob Beauprez, wrote a similar section and does not agree with his explanation. "Mr. Jordan's accountability pledge bears a remarkably strong resemblance to the accountability pledge I put forward last fall. You know what they say – imitation is the highest form of flattery."

Ethics & Plagiarism

Much like I explained in my discussion response this week, I feel there are two types of reporters in the world - those who are dedicated to the craft that stop at no end and others who are just as dedicated but more moralistic in judgment. Because of this, the pressure of always having a great story is put on reporters. Many individuals who have been caught plagiarizing use this excuse themselves. Is this why plagiarism happens more often now? Or is it just caught more often because there is a light on the issue? Are people less ethical much like Pavlik's “Journalism In The Digital Age” mentioned?

We live in a cruel world, we all know this. The world is ever changing, and it is expected that everything else follows suit. The face of journalism continues to change due to the rise of technology and its influence on the industry. But what is driving more journalists to infringe on the words of their follow reporters and use them as if they were their own. Passing work off that is not yours is dishonest, deceitful, unprofessional and morally and ethically wrong.

What should be done about this? As a journalist, I feel strict penalties should occur to journalists that engage in this behavior. Firstly, I don't feel they should write for any magazine, website, newspaper, etc. after being caught. I realize the media coverage of their scandal most often leads to book offers, etc. But by drawing this light on these individuals, I feel deeply furthers the imagery of acceptance within our industry. Why do we give press time to liars? They are the ones who make hardworking individuals that dig for truth and answers look bad. Reporters are among some of the most untrusted individuals in America. Why? Because they lie, because they use other people's words. This trend will only continue if something drastic doesn't occur.

With the implementation of my program that tracks clips and feeds of journalists, those infringing on one's intellectual property rights will be punished. But my program cannot stop the act from happening, the industry and their role in placing coverage on the issue, is ultimately what will make a difference. Journalism Ethic classes all over preach out plagiarism and the issues and penalties behind it, however it is within one's morals and ethics that will determine their fate with the issue. Let's hope that honest, true reporters come up from the ranks to take over for the old-school retirees of today's times.

Is Plagiarism GOOD or BAD? What should we do about it?

With the conversation of technology changing the process of news in our industry, my program where journalists, freelancers, authors or broadcasters can post their feeds, novels, clips, etc. to be monitored for copyright, is a vital product to have on the market. While the industry is continually evolving, it is important that professional issues such as copying one's work is kept in the limelight. While the situation is unfortunate, it is obvious that it occurs, but why?

According to one personal University of Michigan web site,

• What is the penalty for plagiarism? "Plagiarism often carries severe penalties (...)"

• Do I have to cite every fact?"If you have any doubt about whether or not you are committing plagiarism, cite your source (...)"

• What if I put someone else's ideas in my own words? "A writer who fails to give appropriate acknowledgment when repeating another's wording or particularly apt term, paraphrasing another's argument, or presenting another's line of thinking is guilty of plagiarism"

• Why does plagiarism matter?Careers and reputations have been damaged by findings of plagiarism. Journalists have been fired from the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Wall Street Journal, among others. A Harvard psychiatrist resigned after a finding of plagiarism against him. Art Buchwald sued Paramount Pictures (and won) over the idea for the plot of Coming to America.
  

Lauren Fry of the Morning News suggested that plagiarism is a GOOD thing because it has forced teachers to catch up on technology. Within the journalism aspect, the issue has forced old school writers to come into the times of the Internet and rising technology.

Slate writer Jack Shafer offers more reasoning behind the act in "Why Plagiarists Do It, Because They Can." Most often when plagiarism happens, people claim it was 'unintentional' to others, they feel they didn't properly credit someone.

According to Shafer:

The standard rundown of plagiarism excuses includes accidental copying, occupational or personal stress, and even mental illness, as in the case of former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair.

Some of these underlying reasons are: Writers accepting work beyond their talent, the difficulty of writing in the overall, the thrill of the act, sabotaging a boss you are not fond of, or overcoming the habit in itself.

Read the original article here.

After simply googling variations of keywords including the issues, I have discovered a multitude of information that calls out for help. To take that step forward in changing negative to positive, the overall stigma of what a journalist is and does can be changed for society to take it or leave it.

Other Links in reference to this article:
Poynter Online, Check for Plagiarism
Poynter Online, Great Journalists Credit Others

Usually within blogs, I do not being confined to one topic, so as my duty of fulfilling my assignment, I will attempt to incorporate some other thoughts about this week's readings of online effectiveness with my topic, in hopes to further expand the knowledge base of my readers.

My personal thoughts on the role of Journalism includes that it should inform, educate, further expand the thoughts and opinion of its reader, entertain and most importantly, get the facts. With my blog and concept idea, I hope to ultimately educate others on copyright issues and how they can protect their works. It will be a resource for students and researchers because of its attempt to solve a major industry problem, plagarism (See related link for more industry information).

With direct attribution to Wikipedia, plagiarism is defined as: “the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work. Unlike cases of forgery, in which the authenticity of the writing, document, or some other kind of object, itself is in question, plagiarism is concerned with the issue of false attribution.”

With the focus of TV online websites being more video-oriented (according to Feedroom CEO Jon Klein), my addition of video feeds to the copy check is in great relation to the rising need within our industry for its safety as well. We can all agree that stories are scooped more readily on the Net. However, the need for more unique content is obvious.

Take for example, my daily work as a freelance writer (see my writing blog for more happenings). Part of my work involves being hired to write content articles about various topics. Because of my experience, I can write about almost anything. However, there was a time where I would need to do surface research before beginning to compose articles. This is similar to that of research for academic writing in universities. We view the research and ultimately, incorporate it with our own voice into our assignments. The new phenomenon however occurs in that someone feels they can lift paragraphs or perhaps even whole texts of article and repost, reproduce and/or reprint them with their byline on them.

Why does this occur?

First of all, I think in general many people are not aware of the extreme legal action that can be taken for doing this.

Dan Brown, writer of The DaVinci Code, was argued of plagiarizing parts of this bestseller. A lawsuit pursued, in which, he won. Details are here.

Secondly, perhaps these individuals were not taught correctly about the act or perhaps they don't see it as a moral issue, simply a large sum of money will fix their problem. The real problem however exists in the written voice of individuals.

As writers, we struggle to establish our own voice that readers can identify with. We all have our favorite journalists or novelists, in which we could read a paragraph or two of the piece and know it was a specific writer composing it without first looking for the byline. This is what makes journalism and writing so intriguing and ultimately fulfilling to me. I do not want my voice passed off as someone else's. My concept idea will work towards fighting for that notion.

A Chick Lit Copy News Story

After reading through Poynter tonight, I discovered a recent story of a girl from Suburban New Jersey who wrote a chick lit book about a girl who is the daughter of Indian Doctors in Suburban NJ (autobiographical). The author, 19 year old Ivy League college student Kaavya Viswanathan, had a $500,000 two-book contract as well as a DreamWorks movie deal. However, a few pages were extremely identical to Megan F. McCafferty earlier novels entitled "Sloppy Firsts" and "Second Helpings."

This example is not only exactly what I am addressing with my program but also alerts me that maybe including something for authors within my program will be beneficial as well. This is all a work in progress.

READ ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE:
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=100604