Borges a plagiarizer?

[upstater1]

As several previous posters have pointed out, he's done exactly what dozens of other writers of "notes columns" do. There's actually a service available that culls and sends out the best tidbits from around the league to the media.

I've gotten it for an NFL radio show that I do. It usually has 10 stories that appear verbatim in notes columns from around the country.

Like him, dislike him, but Borges didn't do anything wrong on this one.

Trust me, this is against the law. You simply can't do this. if you were allowed to do this, then you could just rip off anything and pass it off.

Put it this way, why do you think jason Blair was fired?

Usually, the writers that contributed to the report are cited at the bottom, or at the very least the syndicate is. In this case, nothing was cited. I mean, we don't even know if Borges is stealing this from his own grandmother (which actually wouldn't surprise me).

 

[upstater1]

I'm not going to read the thread right now, but in case this was mentioned -- Will McDonough apparently innovated what Borges is doing now. Perhaps even for any city, any sport. At least, that's the impression I got from the reporting at the time of his death.

That said -- I hope people bombard the Globe ombudsperson with examples, not just this one but as many others as possible. At a minimum, it will put pressure on him. This kind of regurgitated reporting was more genuinely valuable pre-Internet; now it's simply lazy.

What's so innovative about plagiarism?

 

[Grogan's Heroes]

If this is what dozens of other notes columns do, then there must be dozens of similar examples.

Does anyone recall the details of Mike Barnicle plagiarism issue from several years back? He was a far higher profile Globe columnist than Borges.

 

[patchick]

As several previous posters have pointed out, he's done exactly what dozens of other writers of "notes columns" do. There's actually a service available that culls and sends out the best tidbits from around the league to the media.

I've gotten it for an NFL radio show that I do. It usually has 10 stories that appear verbatim in notes columns from around the country.

Like him, dislike him, but Borges didn't do anything wrong on this one.

But this wasn't just a "tidbit"...a clipping service doesn't have the right to take one writer's article and send it to a hundred others, saying "just put your name on this baby!" That's really standard practice? Scary.

I've been on the other side of plagiarism more than once, so perhaps I'm a little sensitive. But this seems like just one more of the many lame excuses people give for why they should be able to pass your work off as their own. (I had a long back-and-forth with one charming guy who was taking the RSS feed from my weekly column, stripping off all reference to me and publishing it under his own name each week. When I told him to stop, he repeatedly insisted that by offering a feed I was relinquishing all rights to the material.)

 

[Johnny Mac]

I hope Borges doesn't get fired. A suspension or reprimand at most.

If Borges goes, what are some of you all going to do? I think hatred of Borges keeps some of you alive and posting as much as some of those 90 year olds in New England were being kept alive in hopes of seeing the Sox win a World Series.

These boards would be a much quieter place without Mr. Borges to kick around.

Didn't people say the same thing about NEM?

 

[Return of the Nizz]

If this is what dozens of other notes columns do, then there must be dozens of similar examples.

Does anyone recall the details of Mike Barnicle plagiarism issue from several years back? He was a far higher profile Globe columnist than Borges.

I don't think he was fired for plagiarism. If I recall he was inventing characters/sources for stories and passing it off as non-fiction.

 

[upstater1]

I don't think he was fired for plagiarism. If I recall he was inventing characters/sources for stories and passing it off as non-fiction.

That's more admirable, if you ask me.

 

[Grogan's Heroes]

I don't think he was fired for plagiarism. If I recall he was inventing characters/sources for stories and passing it off as non-fiction.

Interesting. According to the Mike Barnicle Wikipedia entry, there were two incidents that led to him being fired by the Globe. The first was a case of plagiarism, the second, as you correctly explained, was fabrication.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Barnicle

 

[patsfan55]

Trust me, this is against the law. You simply can't do this. if you were allowed to do this, then you could just rip off anything and pass it off.

Put it this way, why do you think jason Blair was fired?

Usually, the writers that contributed to the report are cited at the bottom, or at the very least the syndicate is. In this case, nothing was cited. I mean, we don't even know if Borges is stealing this from his own grandmother (which actually wouldn't surprise me).

im definitely agreeing with everything upstater has said in this thread

oh and btw :rocker:

 

[PatsFan37]

If Borges gets fired for plagiarism I'm expecting it to feel even better than the Adalius Thomas signing.

Not a chance. Thomas is important.

 

[Fencer]

What's so innovative about plagiarism?

What's innovative is the clever little disclaimer.

 

[DarrylS]

We can all hope that he gets his due, and either is not able to report on football or has to move on.. early retirement.. did anyone contact MSNBC as he writes for them also?? Isn't he on some pregame football shows also?? Maybe in the future he can write a book about his "binky" Drew Bledsoe.

 

[Fixit]

I would think there'd be a big difference between "using" materials from other sources and just ripping whole parts of other articles off.

I know I used lots of sources when I wrote reports for school, but I wasn't allowed to use them verbatim!

Bingo! We got bingo!

Cribbing the stat that DJ has at least 60 catches in five out of seven seasons is one thing; this is flat-out plagiarism.

 

[upstater1]

What's innovative is the clever little disclaimer.

That would only be innovative if it read "The Globe allows plagiarism and copyright infringement so eff off!"

 

[Mainefan]

I've been a writer all of my life--20 books, many articles, TV shows, etc. I'm also a graduate of Northwestern University School of Journalism and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. And I will tell you what what Borges did is unforgivable, and no disclaimer, however clever, will get him out of the hot water into which he's jumped.

The disclaimer, when winnowed down to its essence, simply says, "I reserve the right to steal what I want." Sorry, no sale.

This is a crystal clear case of plagiarism. Facts aren't subject to copyright, but the words used to describe them are. Borges could have rewritten everything, even in the same order as the original, and gotten away with it. But using the very language of the other writer? Not a chance.

What's almost worse than the plagiarism is Borges' laziness and dishonesty. When you put your byline on something, you claim credit for it. You are telling the world it is yours, you wrote it. And when you are too lazy to respect the original writer by at least putting his facts into your words, you don't belong in the profession at all.

The Boston Globe cannot let this stand, both for the sake of its readers and for its other writers and reporters. It will be years, if ever, before Borges can write another word without being ridiculed.

 

[Clonamery]

What's almost worse than the plagiarism is Borges' laziness and dishonesty.

Exactly........

 

[shmessy]

OK, FOLKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now Borges is being CREDITED with this by other publications!!!!!!!!!

http://football.about.com/b/a/258037.htm

I wrote this in another thread, but this is important to note again. If the Globe says this is alright, then why should they complain if someone buys one paper at a machine, but instead of taking just one copy, empties the entire machine and resells the papers for self-profit? I would say that is what Borges did - - but he did worse. The newspaper stealer would have to cross out the bylines of each writer and insert his own name if he were to stoop to Borges' crime.

 

[tedylb]

ColdHardFootballFacts has responded with a swift pen...

http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/Article.php?Page=1357&Category=1

I copied & pasted this and sent to Globe editors & ombudsman, inviting their comments. If they reply, I'll pass along to you.

 

[shmessy]

I copied & pasted this and sent to Globe editors & ombudsman, inviting their comments. If they reply, I'll pass along to you.

Does anyone have Mr. Sando's (the original writer) e-mail address? I'd imagine he'd be rather interested in all this! So might his (and his newspaper's) lawyers.

 

[Grogan's Heroes]

Does anyone have Mr. Sando's (the original writer) e-mail address? I'd imagine he'd be rather interested in all this! So might his (and his newspaper's) lawyers.

Just found this on the Tacoma News Tribune site:

Mike Sando
Seahawks 425-822-9504
[email protected]