RichieWhitt: Shame on You ESPNDallas. Shame, I Say.

[jterrell]

hey he just needs to pull a steve dennis and act an arse then the whole world will know his name....

awesome moral builder there.

espndallas' move was bush league.

if you quote a source speaking with a different medium you need to credit that medium properly. OR you could just not run that quote at all.

 

[Doctor32]

Okay, this was pretty stupid.

My thought exactly.

 

[Randy White]

Really, quotes are not a big deal. You, as a writer, didn't say them, so if they are used by someone else that's their prerogative.

I disagree. I have two friends ( one of them from childhood ) who are prominent national writers in basketball and football, and we've talked about this before.

General quotes, that is quotes given in press conferences, are ok to use without creditation because they were given to, basically, the public. However, quotes given in specific interviews are usually treated as proprietary content by fellow journalists. That is, if the quote is going to be used, the proper credit should be given.

If they take something you wrote or said and use it as their own, then there's a problem.

Well, this is somewhat like that. The content ( quote ) might not have come from you, but it was only you who obtained it. Legally it doesn't stand up in courte, of course, but it's a professional courtesy that's practiced most of the time.

 

[gimmesix]

It's done all the time on every medium. You see FOX airing MSNBC clips giving them credit, the opposite as well. Competing local stations do it all the time, newspapers, magazines, etc..

It's an unwritten rule most follow..

It's different if you use someone's clip or a part of what they have written. That is the property of the one who created it, and credit has to be given.

Other things are pretty much public domain and giving credit for where you found it is just a courtesy, certainly nothing to get upset about.

 

[gimmesix]

I disagree. I have two friends ( one of them from childhood ) who are prominent national writers in basketball and football, and we've talked about this before.

General quotes, that is quotes given in press conferences, are ok to use without creditation because they were given to, basically, the public. However, quotes given in specific interviews are usually treated as proprietary content by fellow journalists. That is, if the quote is going to be used, the proper credit should be given.

I have been in print journalism for 15 years. I took journalism ethics courses while getting my master's degree (just to give you some background on my level of understanding on this).

If you use another's words or expressions in the exact same manner they wrote or said them, then you are obligated to give them credit. If you rewrite material, giving it your own spin, or use material that was not created by the writer, such as quote they used which belongs to the one who said it, it is a courtesy to credit the source but not a necessity.

We have to be very careful about copyright infringement/plagiarism, and what ESPNDallas doesn't come close to being that. They could have given the name of the program from which they heard the quote, but were under no obligation to do so and shouldn't be vilified for it.

 

[2much2soon]

He just wants us to know about the lack of integrity and unprofessionalism at ESPNDallas.

He is kinda late then, eh?

 

[Primetime42]

Yeah, it's a little stupid, but he's right.

ESPNDallas isn't the only one though. This stench has permeated all of ESPN. There is no such thing as journalism ethics anymore.

Yep.

Not an ESPNDallas thing. It's an ESPN thing.

When ESPNNewYork launches, things are going to get very interesting.

 

[Randy White]

We have to be very careful about copyright infringement/plagiarism, and what ESPNDallas doesn't come close to being that. They could have given the name of the program from which they heard the quote, but were under no obligation to do so and shouldn't be vilified for it.

We're not disagreeing on much here. I didn't say it was plagiarism or copyright infringement. I even said it wouldn't stand up if court, if they took it that far. But what I'm saying, and you should know this being a journalist, is that creditation should be given in that instance and most of the time is.

Let me give you an example. My friend, the baskeball writer, was interviewing Kobe Bryant one on one in their practice facility. There was a writer who wasn't sitting too far, but not close. They had a lengthy interview and many things he said that my friend used in his column. The other reporter, who wasn't part of the interview, grabbed one of the quotes and used it in his column without giving credit to my friend. Well, my friend wasn't upset about it, but he was curious as to how things work since he was, basically, a " novice " in the business. He's a nice guy and had developed good relationship with the more established reporters so he asked. The response was that the guy had made his career basically doing just that which is why the rest of the press core kept him at an arm length and didn't treat him as a collegue, but that whenever things like that happen, the right thing to do is to give credit to the writer who produced the quote, be it in print or electronic media.

In their opinion, which is mine as well since I'm not in the business therefor must take their word for it, it is a big deal because most of this guys work hard for what they get to write. Joe Q public doesn't realize that it's not easy getting quotes from with this guys, especially when they're superstars. It takes a long, long time to get them to come around.

That's also why I say that if the athlete REALLY wanted to, he could make the media's lives MISSERABLE by simply not talking. Writters, despite of what that D-head Werder claims, do not make a living with " no comment ".

 

[gimmesix]

We're not disagreeing on much here. I didn't say it was plagiarism or copyright infringement. I even said it wouldn't stand up if court, if they took it that far. But what I'm saying, and you should know this being a journalist, is that creditation should be given in that instance and most of the time is.

I will agree that credit is given to the source of the information in most instances, but it isn't unfair when it is not given in a case like this ... and there are a lot of cases like this. It is a professional courtesy, but most other writers I know aren't really offended when something like a quote is taken without credit given.

We all want to be given credit, egos and all, but aren't so shallow to write an article complaining about not being specifically mentioned for something so trivial. It's something that happens in this business, and it isn't unethical unless someone else specifically takes credit for something they didn't generate.

If ESPNDallas has said Jones told them ... then there's a problem. Otherwise, no big deal.

 

[Seven]

Does this remind anyone of "Who's on first"?


This article is more interpretational than the bible................no?

 

[JBond]

Okay, this was pretty stupid.

Not overly concerned myself. Now I have got to get back to downloading new movie releases and mass producing music CD's to sell at my stand downtown.