By Alexander C. Kaufman | Reuters – Thu, Jun 21, 2012LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Here's a simple ethical question: A journalist publishes a story. The story contains paragraphs that mirror - almost verbatim - an article printed in another publication. Is that journalist a plagiarist?
The vast majority of people would respond quickly and confidently, insisting the reporter has committed the gravest of journalistic misdeeds - plagiarism. This answer is obvious, but in the case of The New Yorker's Jonah Lehrer, it is unclear whether it is correct.
That's because Lehrer plagiarized himself.
The New Yorker's new hire ignited a firestorm Tuesday when media blogger Jim Romenesko noted that a June 12 post on The Front Cortex, Lehrer's blog for The New Yorker, lifted three paragraphs from a piece he published in The Wall Street Journal last October.
Romenesko's post quickly gained traction on New York magazine's Daily Intel blog, which rounded up numerous examples of Lehrer's self-duplication from stories he wrote on Wired.com, the New York Observer and the New York Times Magazine. Gawker's infamously sharp-tongued media critic, Hamilton Nolan, further inflamed the issue with posts filed under the site's mocking "Journalismism" label.
By that afternoon, The New Yorker had appended five of Lehrer's posts on The Frontal Cortex with an editor's note regretfully recognizing the duplicated material.
And on Wednesday, Lehrer apologized to a New York Times reporter.
"It was a stupid thing to do and incredibly lazy and absolutely wrong," he told the Times.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the publisher of Lehrer's three books, told the Times in a statement that future editions of his bestseller "Imagine" will include a disclaimer about previously published lines appearing in the book.
"Jonah Lehrer fully acknowledges that ‘Imagine' draws upon work he has published in shorter form during the past several years and is sorry that was not made clear," the statement said. "He owns the rights to the relevant articles, so no permission was needed. He will add language to the acknowledgments noting his prior work."
Lehrer did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.
Most Popular
-
Jonah Lehrer is Sorry for Plagiarizing …
Jonah Lehrer got in piles of trouble on Tuesday when it was revealed he has a history … Full Story »Jonah Lehrer is Sorry for Plagiarizing Himself
The Atlantic Wire (RSS)
-
Market moving journalist Dan Dorfman …
(Reuters) - Dan Dorfman, the American financial journalist who could move markets … Full Story »Market moving journalist Dan Dorfman dies
Reuters
-
Chuck Klosterman Is The New York Times …
Update (2:04 p.m. EDT): Klosterman, a music and culture critic best known for … Full Story »Chuck Klosterman Is The New York Times Magazine's New Ethicist
The Atlantic Wire (RSS)
[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
