I'm sure the Houston Press will have a field day with this. kgw http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-reportersuspended&prov=ap&type=lgns Columnist for Houston Chronicle suspended for reusing old work April 4, 2004 HOUSTON (AP) -- A Houston Chronicle sports columnist has been suspended without pay for a month after a recent column was found to be virtually identical to one he wrote in 1990 for another newspaper. Mickey Herskowitz's column last month about former UCLA coach John Wooden contained little new information and duplicated many phrases, the Chronicle said in an editor's note published in its Sunday editions. Herskowitz worked for the Houston Post for 30 years before becoming a columnist with the Chronicle in 1995, when the Post closed. A further examination found other examples of short passages he wrote while working for the Post that later appeared in the Chronicle. ``I can't tell you how idiotic and stupid I feel,'' Herskowitz said in the editor's note. ``I have never lifted from anyone else. I apologize.'' The Chronicle said Herskowitz's actions were not plagiarism but were bad form. Readers, the newspaper said, deserve original work and anything previously reported or quoted needs to be labeled as such.
I know this isnt the point of the story so much but.. if you write an article does it become property of the newspaper its for.. like is his 1990 article in question.. the property of the post once he writes it for them.. ?
Who's surprised? The guy's been writing the same freaking columns for 20 years now. He certainly can't claim to be the biggest joke in the Chronicle, but he may be the saddest. Goodbye, Mick. Maybe he could get some space at blogspot or something and recycle all his old junk there.
I'm more curious as to how they identified a 14-year old article from a defunct paper as being a dupe. Somebody's got a hell of a memory or Mickey's got a hell of a big mouth.
i for one applaud his effort to get out of doing work and at this point all he can say is "you got me" b/c like DoD said going back 14 years to a nonexistant newspaper is pretty good research to catch him and something you gotta figure no one will do. so, "good form" to mickey and a "well played" to the chronicle.
Thank God that useless old hack just got fired. You know they must have used a pi to get that. The axe was out a long time ago, whetting on the sharpening wheel.
Anyone who feels that Herskowitz is a hack hasn't got a pot to piss in. He is a legend. And he deserves his kudos. If he plaigerized recently, then it might be time for him to go. And, by the way, how does one plaigerize themselves????? Go back to figuring out Gandolf vs. Vader, morons.... Let the guys who follow sports be.
Well, it wasn't plagarism for one thing. For another, I'm sure it's in his contract to write a certain number of columns. Taking an old one and passing it off as new isn't kosher, obviously.
If the whole NYT debacle never occurred then this wouldn't have been a problem; he wouldn't have gotten suspended and it wouldn't have been reported. To his somewhat idiotic credit, he took a story that he genuinely wrote and 'revised' it. I say if he just 'plagiarized' a few lines then it wouldn't be a problem; if it was still relevant to the current issue then why not? Of course the fact that he recycled quotes makes him idiotic. And on how they found him out, well I would have to guess that the Chronicle has a huge database of old articles the common man doesn't know about. Still doesn't explain who or how or why 'somebody' was intelligent enough to remember it.
Ok, after church, I have to say that wasn't very Christian of me. I just don't like him, and don't think he has any value whatsoever to the paper. He seems completely out of touch, and terribly easy to replace. There. Better. Good luck making amends, Mick. Always clean up when you screw up.
I guess Mickey's got his fans, too, just like there actually are people who enjoy listening to Bill Worrell broadcast Astros games or Toby Keith or Everybody Loves Raymond. I just wish lobotomies weren't so damn expensive.
People who don't see the big deal.. this is something that you just don't do.. for instance at my university using a paper that you wrote for one class one year for another class the next year.. is a major honor code violation that will cost you dearly..
thefreak.. lol .. did he also break some copyright violations too though.. If you write an article for a newspaper.. I dont think you are allowed to reuse that for another paper.. i thought it becomes property of who you write it for
