Reno Newspaper Defends Reporting on Glider Accident

RENO NEWSPAPER DEFENDS REPORTING ON GLIDER ACCIDENT

August 30, 2006

Reno, Nevada: A spokesperson at the Reno Daily Review & Journal
Dispatch defended charges of plagiarism today, arguing that material
gathered by one of that city's most respected newspapers was in the
public domain and thus did not necessarily require attribution.

Said a senior editor, "Our reporters leave no stone unturned when
investigating a major story like the recent glider and jet collision.
When facts are made clear based on authoritative sources in the
aviation community, we are under no obligation to waste time and money
reverifying the same facts twelve times over, or seeking to determine
which expert first made a statement on which all seem to agree."

A reporter for that newspaper elaborated. "Used to, we hadda go out and
shoot photos, find witnesses, interview people involved--IF we could
find them and IF they would talk to us. But with the Internet, it's
simple. Just find the right newsgroup or blog and everything you could
possibly wanna know is already there--within a few hours. Like this
glider thing yesterday. Who woulda thought to ask about this gizmo the
glider guy was supposed to be using: a transporter or tricorder or
something? Some guy on the Web said he mighta turned it off. But what
do I know? I just lift what the experts say and it goes right into the
article. That's not plagiarism, that's just good journalism. In the old
days, the pilot woulda lawyered out and everyone woulda been No
Comment. Now his buddies on rec.aviation.soaring tell us everything we
wanna know and then some. Some o' these folks just talk and talk and
talk. So why kill yourself tryin' to get an interview? With a PC and
the Internet, gettin' facts and quotes is like shootin' fish in a
barrel. Speakin' o' which, I got enough stuff off the glider guys in
two hours today for the next three articles. So I'm goin' fishin'."

Spokespersons at the paper refused comment on a rumored practice
referred to as "chumming"; i.e., news outlets firing off quick or
controversial headlines in the hopes of generating buzz on the Internet
and further information that could be spun into subsequent articles.

SoarPoint
;o)