Assignment #6

Part I -- Identify the shamed journalists in the mugshots above, and describe why each was fired. Hint: they worked for (from left to right) The New Republic, The New York Times, USA Today and The Washington Post.Part II -- The Mustang Daily even found itself embroiled in a plagiarism scandal last year. What were the details of the incident? (BONUS QUESTION: What ethical dilemma did local media (Mustang Daily, New Times and SLO Tribune) face when reporting this story)?Part III -- Identify the 'character' of each organization or individual listed below. Some questions to answer: What do they do? Who pays them? What is their agenda, if any? Who’s interest are they serving? 1. Corpwatch2. Globalwitness3. Laborstart4. Associated Press5. Reuters6. Electronic Authorization Partnership7. David Romero8. Jack T. O'Conell9. Julie Rodewald10. Deborah Linden\
PART I:
Stephen Glass from The New Republic was fired because of a discovery made by his editor that he fabricated sources in many of his stories. He was first questioned by another reporter who suspiciously looked into his story about a hacker convention. As it turns out, the convention did not exist and the software company he cited was fake. He even went to lengths as to create a bogus website for the fictional software company.
Jayson Blair from The New York Times was fired because he plagiarized material and fabricated quotes and scenes throughout the fours years he worked for the newspaper. He was caught plagiarizing from a fellow reporter whom he worked with at his college newspaper at the University of Maryland.
Jack Kelley from USA Today was fired after evidence proved he had fabricated sources and his credibility was questioned when a story surfaced about a Cuban woman who supposedly died in a boat in an attempt to flee Cuba. The woman whose photo he submitted turned out to be a Cuban hotel worker. She never fled from Cuba and she was perfectly alive and well.
Janet Cooke from the Washington Post was fired when the discovery of her Pulitzer prize-winning story “Jimmy’s World” about an 8 year old heroin addict was fictional. She made up the elaborate story when she tricked her editors into letting the “mother” become an anonymous source. When she won the Pulitzer Prize, discrepancies showed up in her resume and she admitted to having made up the story.
PART II:
In August of 2005, a journalism student named Rebecca Laman was caught plagiarizing in three articles of the Mustang Daily, which include a profile of the Cal Poly men’s barbershop quartet, Men-So Forte; “July Fourth do’s and don’ts” and a movie review of “Fantastic Four.” The chairman of the journalism department, George Ramos was distressed, but handled the situation by making sure the student was punished by the university. Under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, the university was not able to comment on the case, but the school’s plagiarism policy at Cal Poly is considered a “serious violation.” Rebecca Lama requested that her name not be printed in the newspaper, but the tribune did anyway.
BONUS: The ethical dilemma the SLO Tribune faced was whether or not they should identify Rebecca Laman as the writer who plagiarized for the Mustang Daily even when she requested not to be named. They decided to print her name because under the basic standards of journalism, she was considered a “newsworthy individual.” The Mustang Daily is a key source of information for Cal Poly students and she wrote dishonorably for the publication. Just because she is a student, she should not receive any less scrutiny for committing an unethical violation.
PART III:
1. Corpwatch is an organization whose mission is to investigate and expose corporate violations of human rights, environmental crimes, fraud, and corruption around the world. The people who work for Corpwatch want to foster global justice, independent media activism, and democratic control over corporations.
2. Globalwitness is a non-governmental organization that highlights worldwide links between natural resource exploitation conflict, poverty, corruption, and human rights abuses. The organization does not have any political affiliation and the income comes from private trusts and foundations.
3. Labourstart is an online news service of the international trade union movement. It has conducted dozens of global online campaigns on behalf of unions, which have lead to companies and governments to release jailed trade unionists and negotiate with unions. 4. The Associated Press is an American news agency owned by newspapers, radio, and TV stations in the United States. The Associated Press Stylebook has become the basic standard for news writing in the United States. 5. Reuters is a news service that provides reports from around the world to newspapers and broadcasters. The main focus of the service is to supply the financial markets with information and trading products, which include market data, currency rates, research, and analytics. 6. Electronic Authorization Partnership develops processes for certifying digital-certificate providers. It was established by the Federal ID Credentialing Committee7. David Romero is the mayor of San Luis Obispo and is paid by the city.
8 Jack T. O'Conell is the state superintendent of public instruction in California.
9. Julie Rodewald is the county clerk recorder for San Luis Obispo. She is paid by the city. 10. Deborah Linden is the police chief of San Luis Obispo and is paid by the city.