PLAGIARISM IN JOURNALISM

Plagiarism is a severe misconduct. We have all heard about plagiarism in one field or the other. Songwriters, students, writers and historians plagiarize the work of others, but most disturbingly for journalists. They inform the publics about the events occurring around them but it seems journalists keep repeating incidence over and over again. There have been a number of cases in recent times of plagiarism among reporters. These incidences are serious because they damage the credibility not only of journalists directly involved but all journalists. Every writer knows that you do not take someone else’s writing and pass it off as your own. If you want to use someone else’s writing, you must first cite the source.

The problem is the temptation to plagiarize is greater than ever because of the internet which places a seemingly infinite amount of information just a mouse- click away. But the fact that plagiarism is easier than ever means reporters must be more vigilant than ever in guarding against it.

Plagiarism means claiming someone else’s work as yours by putting in your story without attribution or credit. If a reporter writes a story in a particularly distinctive or unusual way and another reporter essentially copies passages from that story into his own article, that’s an example of plagiarism.

Other journalists also copies people’s ideas. Sometimes, the media keep repeating past events.

In order to avoid plagiarism in journalism, journalists should do their own reporting. That way they avoid the temptation to steal information from another reporters story and will have the satisfaction of producing work that is entirely their own.

Also, once you have written your story, read it through several times to make sure you have not use any information that is not your own. Journalists should remember that, plagiarism is not always conscious act. Sometimes it can creep into your story without you being aware of it. Therefore, information being published must be accurate, no repetition and must be clear. This act will educate the public and to know more of what is happening.

Student journalists should also learn not to plagiarize when they start to report.