Plagiarism in Journalism

The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics clearly states "Never plagiarize" as plagiarism is deemed as one of the worst things in journalism (Bartlett 2012). In my opinion, the urge to plagiarize is greater than ever due to the existence of the internet, which contains tremendous amounts of information just a click away. Whether intentional or not, plagiarism is completely unacceptable. All media outlets must clearly identify the source of the stories that they did not produce as integrity and credibility are the two most important values in journalism (Bartlett 2012). Failure to do so will result in plagiarism.

Avoiding plagiarism is easy as it simply means producing someone else's work as your own. To avoid plagiarism, you need to collect your own data. This would mean you would need to understand the subject matter thoroughly as well as to give credit to the source of information from others(Bartlett 2012). When you use information from other sources or reporters, you need to trace the original source (Rogers 2013). In addition to that, use that particular material but ensure it is attributed to the original source or news outlet, meaning not only to cite the source but also to provide a link to it (Rogers 2013). Upon completion of your article, proof read it to ensure that you have not included any information that does not belong to you (Rogers 2013). Remember, plagiarism is not always a conscious act!

Reference

Bartlett, L 2012, Plagiarism, Society of Professional Journalists, accessed on 10 November 2013, .

Rogers, T 2013, Politico Reporter Kendra Marr Fired for Plagiarism, About.com, accessed on 10 November 2013, .

Rogers, T 2013, Avoiding Plagiarism in Journalism, About.com, accessed on 10 November 2013, .