LETTER: COPYING OF STORY IS QUESTIONED

To the editor:

As I was reading the Southeast Missourian the other day, I ran across something that I found extremely unsettling. On March 3 you ran a story ("written") by Marty Mishow) entitled "NCAA rules Otahks' Tokcan ineligible." I enjoyed the story, but it sounded extremely familiar to me. After doing a little checking, I discovered why. In the March 1 Capaha Arrow, the Southeast Missouri State University campus newspaper, associate editor Josh Barsch had written the story two days before Mishow's article appeared in the Southeast Missourian.

Upon closer examination of the story, I was shocked to find that, with a few exceptions, Mishow had copied Barsch's story paragraph by paragraph, simply rewording Barsch's sentences to avoid absolute plagiarism. Mishow even used Barsch's quotes. I realize that identical quotes can be obtained by sportswriters at press conferences and the like, but this was not the case. I know Mr. Barsch, and I asked him how he acquired his quotes for the article from Coach Cindy Gannon. He told me that his interview with the coach was a private one over the telephone, which means that Mr. Mishow simply copied them word for word out of Barsch's article. And if that wasn't enough, Mishow also had the nerve to put his name on the article.

I find this to be absolutely ludicrous. Mr. Mishow is supposed to be a professional journalist, but ripping off stories from amateur news writers and taking credit for them is not professional at all. I just have a few questions for the Southeast Missourian editorial staff. Is this sort of thing commonplace among journalists? Is there any sort of law against stealing a story like this and taking credit? Will Mishow receive any sort of reprimand? If there is any doubt that he simply followed Barsch's story paragraph by paragraph, I simply invite you to read it yourself and see. There will be no doubt in your mind. I find this to be very unsettling.

I don't know if you will print this letter, but you should. Your readers deserve to know whether its reporters and editors are being up front with them or not. In this case, Marty Mishow is guilty of something, even if it's just simple deception and underhandedness.

STEPHEN ISAACS

Cape Girardeau

Editor's note: The issues raised by Stephen Isaacs in his letter are very serious. The Southeast Missourian does not condone the use of stories generated by other news media and presenting them as staff-written stories.

The activity described in Isaacs' letter is an untenable breach of fundamental journalistic standards and ethics.

Marty Mishow admits that he took the story written by Josh Barsch and, with only minor changes, presented it as his own story, including the use of his byline.

After careful consideration, Mishow is being placed on two weeks of unpaid leave. He has been counseled regarding the ethical issues raised by this incident.

The entire news staff of the Southeast Missourian has been reminded of the absolute requirement to obtain factual information without resorting to plagiarism or any other activity that would in any way endanger the public's trust in this newspaper's reporting. The Southeast Missourian apologizes to Barsch and to readers for what has happened. The trust that readers have in the news content presented in this newspaper regretfully has been compromised by this incident.

Coincidentally, Barsch started an eight-week internship at the Southeast Missourian on Monday under arrangements that were made at the beginning of the current semester.