THEFT, SCHMEFT

THEFT, SCHMEFT: The plagiarism- as we depicted it yesterday- of blogger Charley Foster’s summarization of a lawsuit over the Hapa Trail in Koloa by local newspaper reporter Paul Curtis, elicited a mysterious comment by prolific Big Island blogger Damon Tucker (who also uses the “P” word in a post today) which read “Tim Ryan?” and included this link.

It leads to a little know discussion page of the “go to” information repository Wikipedia and a January 2006 article entitled “Wikipedia editors expose journalist's plagiarism.”

Michael Snow writes:

Sleuthing Wikipedia editors have found several cases of apparent plagiarism over the past two years by Tim Ryan, a reporter for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. It began with the discovery of an article last month containing language that closely matched a Wikipedia article, and more investigation found earlier articles that seemed to borrow from additional sources without attribution.

In response to these reports, the Star-Bulletin acknowledged the situation by adding corrections or editor's notes to some of the articles. Star-Bulletin Editor Frank Bridgewater took these actions after investigating the incident and also met with the newspaper's publisher, Dennis Francis, about the situation. However, Bridgewater said last week that he considered the issue of whether any action would be taken against Ryan "a confidential personnel matter."

Apparently Ryan was a serial plagiarist who not only lifted Wikipedia sections unattributed- that essentially being the difference between a “fair use” reference and plagiarism- but also passages from the Sacramento Bee newspaper and the NPR radio program All Things Considered, according to Snow.

But you’d think they’d have learned, especially Bridgewater who continued on at the new Star-Advertiser when the Star-Bulletin “bought out” the bigger and stronger Advertiser.

While we’ve reserved a special place in journalism purgatory for much of what’s presented by the current crop of people at our local newspaper they do one thing that Bridgewater’s Star(ved for real news) Advertiser apparently refuses to do- attribute their press release rewrites.

One of the staples of a daily “newspaper of record” is the rewritten press release, especially those emanating from local and state government public information offices.

Editors, usually those on the “night shift” of larger papers, avoid plopping the copy directly in their news hole- the place left for news when the predetermined advertising is laid out.

In order to avoid charges of plagiarism they re-write the releases shifting the sentence constructions and using other wordsmithing techniques.

But while you’ll always find the words “according to a county release” or another appropriate credit in our local Kaua`i newspaper, when the identical release is rewritten in the Honolulu paper that attribution is never to be found.

Plagiarism has become a serious problem at many publications of late. The NY Times Jason Blair case and other have spurred policies that are designed to eliminate not just the lack of attribution but much more serious lapses.

Are we really that far removed from the mainland that the Honolulu daily thinks it doesn’t have to join the 21st century when it comes to accuracy and full disclosure?

Apparently the answer is yes, as long as the notoriously thin-skinned throwback Bridgewater is in charge.

SITTING ON A SOFA ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON

SITTING ON A SOFA ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON...: Few who saw it would deny that Monday’s gubernatorial debate was a disgusting display of ego-driven bravado, and rabblerousing, childish repartee with an emphasis on zingers and gotcha moments that made no one look good.

And the candidates themselves were pretty out there too.

Of course we’re not talking about Neil and Mufi but the (what passes for) Hawai`i News Now(a'days) production which was more reminiscent of a World Wrestling Federation event than a political forum.

The circus extravaganza- led by Kaua`i-born Keahi Tucker in the “Lets’ get ready to grumble” Vince McMahon role- wasn’t something that just got out of hand but was apparently a preplanned attempt to keep an audience glued to the tube through an hour and a half of “you stink, no you stink, nani-nani-boo-boo, halahhh!” rather than inform the electorate.

First they invited an audience straight out of Jerry Springer even setting up “sides” of the room with the most rabid of supporters of each candidate. Then they told them they could whoop and holler in a cheering manner but no hissing and booing.

Yeah, that’ll work.

Then there was Tucker, running around like Phil Donahue on steroids during the “lightening round”. After not asking but telling the two candidates that he was going to address them by their first names- eliciting a slight scowl from both- he proceeded to whip the crowd into a frenzy with insipid questions straight out of an MTV “news” segment.

It was a good thing he ran out of time before asking “boxers or briefs”.

And the questions from the so-called distinguished panel- including the “weather-bunny” turned anchor, the hack reporter/analyst from the co-sponsoring Star(ved for actual news) Advertiser that hasn’t had a political insight since the Burns administration. Only Dan Boylan’s presence prevented the group from having the cumulative political IQ of a sea cucumber.

We fully expected a scantily clad model to waltz across the stage holding up cards indicating which round it was..

Not that political races are by any means dignified affairs these day but you’d think the sponsors would do all they could to encourage a semblance of decorum rather than pulling up to the stage in a tiny car and unloading a group of clowns to ask the questions.

We expect bread and circuses from the pols but when the media provides the big top and the virtual popcorn. it’s no wonder campaigns are decided by who, issues be damned, is the least objectionable.

SHUFFLING A DECK OF JOKERS

SHUFFLING A DECK OF JOKERS: We’ve been having a field day ridiculing Leo Azambuja even calling him “the worst reporter in the world”.

But that kind of presumes he’s a reporter, not some schlub hired off the street at starvation wages by the “el cheapo” management of the local Kaua`i newspaper.

It’s kind of like the Raspberry Awards, given to the worst movies of the year in that they aren’t given to some low budget unknown film but rather to a big expensive Hollywood bomb.

So we take it back- sort of- and instead bestow our “worst reporter”- at least in the state- award to long time political reporter, late of the new Honolulu Starve-a-tizer via the late Star-Bulletin, Richard Borreca.

We’ve been laughing at his seeming inability to venture beyond the most bland of conventional wisdom in his commentaries and his distinctly “he said she said” reporting style for many years.

And so we were none too shocked a few months back when appearing on the PBS program “Island Insights” he told host Dan Boylen with a straight face that there has never been a story broken by a news blogger, especially given that his arrogant self-important attitude has been worn on his sleeve throughout his long career.

So we were wondering whether he had a plate of sautéed crow handy when today he had to report on the story about Mufi Hannemann’s secretive Pittsburgh fundraiser-that-wasn’t-a-fundraiser, thrown by Honolulu rail contract hopefuls, after blogger and Honolulu government watchdog extraordinaire Carroll Cox broke the story a week ago June 9.

KHON TV’s Ron Mizutani picked up on the story the next day although if it wasn’t for Cox’s revelation it’s pretty doubtful anyone in the corporate press would have done so.

From there former S-B reporter, blogger Ian Lind, picked up the ball and ran with it filling in many details Cox and Mizutani had missed, reporting twice on the issue on June 11th and 13th as Mufi’s militia made various pronouncements of questionable veracity, finally deciding to give back the money.

(Parenthetically today Lind presented a post dealing with our favorite fake reporter’s fake reporting on the fake farm approved by our fake planning commission this week.)

So a week later Borreca, no longer able to stand the criticism being leveled at the S-A for ignoring the story, finally wrote it up today with zero new facts and, of course, written in the intelligence-offending “he said she said”, opposing quotes style.

It wouldn’t do for Borreca to just report on the actual events when they became known. That might have made the report timely and spun bullsh-t-free.

Indeed his lede indicates his typical lazy journalist’s angle.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann's chief opponents in the governor's race say he should answer questions and explain his recent trip to Pittsburgh to raise campaign funds.

After a brief 40 word description of the basic long-ago-reported story he goes back and forth between quotes from the always-good-for-a-laugh Republican Party Chairman Jonah Kaauwai, Hannemann campaign Spokesperson Carolyn Tanaka and prospective Hannemann opponents in the November governor’s race, fellow Democrat and former U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie and Republican Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona.

For those that don’t really follow issues in journalism, the "he said she said" reporting style has evolved over the past few decades as a response to complaints from those who don’t like the way the objective facts look, in order to assure that their “spin”- including outright idiotic crap- will be dutifully reported. unchallenged except for some other apologist’s quote.

It’s what’s made true investigative reporting something that is apparently forbidden in the modern corporate newsroom.

While it always good journalism to report what those who don’t like the news are saying about it, it’s one thing to include their quote, perhaps at the end of a piece in order to contrast it with the known facts, and it’s a whole other thing to base the entire article on opposing quotes that leave the reader confused as to what the actual facts are.

But it’s beyond that with Borreca. He’s simply a dinosaur whose defense of his lack of real craft has deluded him into actually thinking that only he should be reporting the news no matter how uninformative his version of it is.

With all the excellent journalists out of work after the slaughter of the Honolulu Advertiser it’s apparently way past time to put Borreca out to pasture where his BS will be, if not appreciated, at least tolerated.