PR and Plagiarism

Who would've thought...Katie Couric linked to plagiarism??

Recent CBS developments have cited Couric's blog, "Katie's Notebook," with items that have been lifted from a Wall Street Journal article published in March. Couric has not suffered any consequences (that we know of), but a CBS producer was fired because he was the one who actually wrote the blog.

The problem I have with this whole issue is that Couric's blog leads people to believe that she is writing the material. She even includes a short video clip about the blog. She is, therefore, indirectly involved with the plagiaristic acts and should suffer for it. The CARDINAL rule of journalism is NOT to plagiarize!!

As a PR student (future professional), I'm learning that the rules still apply to pr just as they do for journalists and news writers. Whether a press release we write gets published or not, the rules of plagiarism still apply. I hope to take the lessons learned through the actions of others and apply them to my career in order to be as honest and straightforward as possible.

Couric may not be directly punished for her actions (or lack there of), but after all of this news is out, I hope that she will see a decrease in her ratings.

I just wonder how many other journalists and pr professionals there are who just haven't been caught yet...