Self-plagiarism, recycling and fabrication: different approaches

Weeks after it was revealed that he had used recycled material, The New Yorker’s Jonah Lehrer has resigned after admitting that he also fabricated quotes from Bob Dylan.

The attention given to Lehrer’s recycling was interesting, given former MacLean’s writer Mark Steyn's frequent self-plagiarism.  (See here, here, and here).

As for Lehrer’s invented Dylan quotes, Steyn has yet to explain the discrepancy between a quote that appeared in the Toronto Star and his own version. 

Is it possible that there’s more tolerance for these things in Canadian, versus American journalism?  Perhaps that’s what Margaret Wente’s invented Occupy protester "John", and other examples here,  here,  here,  and here would  indicate.

As for Steyn’s recycling habit, my favorite very short example is “that flat in Marseilles” (in which only the punch line changes):

Steyn, UK Telegraph, 2005:

…a fellow in Marseilles is being charged with fraud because he lived with the dead body of his mother for five years in order to continue receiving her pension of 700 euros a month.

She was 94 when she croaked, so she'd presumably been enjoying the old government cheque for a good three decades or so, but her son figured he might as well keep the money rolling in until her second century and, with her corpse tucked away under a pile of rubbish in the living room, the female telephone voice he put on for the benefit of the social services office was apparently convincing enough. As the Reuters headline put it: "Frenchman lived with dead mother to keep pension."

That's the perfect summation of Europe: welfare addiction over demographic reality. Think of Germany as that flat in Marseilles, and Mr Schröder's government as the stiff, and the country's many state benefits as that French bloke's dead mum's benefits…

Steyn, America Alone, 2006, page 112-113:

A fellow in Marseilles was charged with fraud because he lived with the dead body of his mother for five years in order to continue receiving her pension of 700 euros a month.

She was ninety-four when she croaked, so she'd presumably been enjoying the old government check for a good three decades or so, but her son figured he might as well keep the money rolling in until her second century and, with her corpse tucked away under a pile of rubbish in the living room, the female telephone voice he put on for the benefit of the social services office was apparently convincing enough. As the Reuters headline put it: "Frenchman Lived with Dead Mother to Keep Pension."

That's the perfect summation of Europe: welfare addiction over demographic reality. Think of the European Union as that flat in Marseilles, and the Eutopian political consensus as the stiff, and lavish government largesse as that French guy’s dead mom's benefits…

Steyn, New York Sun, 2007:

A fellow in Marseilles was charged with fraud because he lived with the dead body of his mother for five years in order to continue receiving her pension of 700 euros a month.

She was 94 when she croaked, so she'd presumably been enjoying the old government check for a good three decades or so, but her son figured he might as well keep the money rolling in until her second century and, with her corpse tucked away under a pile of rubbish in the living room, the female telephone voice he put on for the benefit of the social services office was apparently convincing enough. As the Reuters headline put it: "Frenchman Lived With Dead Mother To Keep Pension."

Think of France as that flat in Marseilles, and its economy as the dead mother, and the country's many state benefits as monsieur's deceased mom's benefits.

Update:   this is how Fareed Zakaria’s plagiarism was dealt with.

Margaret Wente’s sins

Not ‘original’ sins, mind you (Wente is rarely original).  In fact it is possible that her error today about Episcopalians, whom she describes as “the American equivalent of the United Church”, reflects the New York Times article which perhaps inspired her own version.  Ross Douhat’s earlier OpEd on the collapse of the liberal church (“Can Liberal Christianity Be Saved?”) cites the same figures for Episcopalians.

Episcopalians are, of course the American version of Anglicans.  But what the heck – for Margaret’s purposes - a drive-by smear of the United Church - they'll do just as well.

Borrowing from the Times isn’t new for Wente, and errors related to sloppy attribution practices are common.   Best known was "John", but there are more examples here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.  And another just recently. 


Update, Error #2:  Wente writes that Mormonism “requires obligatory missionary service”.  “Missions are voluntary”, says its website.


Update #2:  While it took them a day or two (or three) an Editor's Note was finally appended to the online version of Wente's article: 


The Episcopalian Church in the United States is equivalent to the Anglican Church of Canada and not the United Church. Mormons are strongly encouraged, but not required to do mission work. An earlier online version of this story, and Saturday's original newspaper version, were not clear.


 In addition, it's worth noting the gracious 

response

 from Mardi Tindal of the United Church.   

Censorship, attribution and disclosure at the Globe and Mail

It’s a sad fact that often the most informative (and benign, non offensive) comments by a number of contributors in response to articles by the likes of Margaret Wente or Neil Reynolds are removed.  This often happens to facts which contradict claims in the articles, or which raise uncomfortable questions.

Again today. Information about Ms. Wente and Don Coxe, whom she quotes - was removed:

A potentially interesting (and undisclosed) relationship between Wente and quoted expert Don Coxe who hails from Wente’s home turf – Chicago.  From the acknowledgements section of his 2003 book:

“Those who undertook the arduous task of evaluating the manuscript deserve special thanks, and I appreciate the comments and suggestions I received from Margaret Wente…”

Wente writes:  “’Canada’s mining and oil wealth is not just minerals dug from the ground,’ Don Coxe, a leading investment strategist, points out. ‘It is the managements, geologists, engineers, drillers, workers and investment bankers who staff companies headquartered in Canada that operate across the world.’”

Those quotes Ms. Wente uses in her breathless paean to Canada as an oil and gas superpower appear on page 17 of an older issue of Coxe’s monthly portfolio strategy journal.

It’s interesting to read them in context (particularly when he discusses “Dutch Disease”).  So why is pointing out the relationship, or the source of the quotes worthy of censorship?

And, as is so frequently the case, Ms. Wente’s column includes material that, it’s fair to suggest, might have benefited from attribution.

Concluding her promotion of the Chinese takeover bid of Nexen as “maximizing our opportunities as a global petro-power”, Wente writes, “Wilfrid Laurier was almost right when he said the 20th century belonged to Canada. He was only off by 100 years”.

Key Porter’s promotional blurb for a similar cheerleading book by Brian Lee Crowley et al (which it is reasonable to believe Ms. Wente is familiar with, as it’s up her alley and was covered in the Globe) reads:

“Laurier did indeed predict the Canadian Century. He was absolutely right; he was
merely off by 100 years.”

A clever hook – and perhaps Crowley, Clemens, Key Porter et al don’t mind the additional publicity.

And likely Mr. Coxe, who thanked Ms. Wente for her help, is pleased to see material from his newsletters in her articles.

But again, it’s reasonable to ask, why not simply disclose any relationships and/or attribute the quotes?  And why the routine censorship of information like this?

Update:  A bit more information that might have been disclosed: 

Don Coxe, the only “investment strategist” quoted by Ms. Wente in her gushing endorsement of the proposed takeover of Nexen by CNOOC is described by the Globe in an earlier article as “strategy adviser to BMO Nesbitt Burns”.  

In a more recent Globe business article, BMO Nesbitt Burns is described as advisor to CNOOC in the takeover bid of Nexen:  “BMO Nesbitt Burns and Citigroup advised CNOOC”, the Globe reports.  Again, should this information, like Ms. Wente’s assistance in the writing of Mr. Coxe’s book, have been subject to full disclosure?

Margaret Wente: Credit where credit is due?

Margaret Wente has a column on Robert Putnam’s research on social mobility.  “Two weeks ago, he discussed his latest findings at the Aspen Ideas Institute”, she writes, providing a number of quotes of what he said there.

Unlike the New York Times David Brooks, who also covered Putnam’s views, she does not indicate where her quotes come from.  She doesn’t say, for example, “as Mr. Putnam told me in a telephone interview”, or, “as Putnam writes in notes prepared for the Aspen Ideas Festival”. 

All of the specific quotes Wente provides, however, along with an overview of Putnam’s remarks, appear on a liveblog of his presentation by David Weinberger at Joho the Blog a couple weeks earlier.

Wente:  “’We’re about to go over a cliff when it comes to social mobility,’ he says. ‘Social mobility and opportunity [for kids who grow up in the bottom third of society] are going to plummet.’”

Weinberg, quoting Putnam:  “If we look out the windshield, we’re about to go over a cliff when it comes to social mobility…Social mobility and opportunity are going to plummet.”

Wente:  “’Over the last two decades or so, white kids coming from less educated, less well-off backgrounds are more and more going through life with only one parent at home,’ he says. These kids are disaffected and disconnected from a very early age. ‘There’s a growing class gap among American youth among all the predictors of success in life’.”

Joho the Blog:  “Over the last two decades or so, white kids coming from less educated, less well-off backgrounds are more and more going through life with only one parent at home.”

“There’s a growing class gap among American youth among all the predictors of success in life.”

Wente: “As Mr. Putnam said at Aspen, ‘I happen to think that hugs and time are more important than money.’ (He added that money is important too.)”

Weinberger concludes by liveblogging the Q & A session, ending with the same quote as Margaret Wente: “I happen to think that hugs and time are more important than money, but money is important too”.

At the bottom of the Joho the Blog post, the following statement is clearly visible: 

“Share it freely, but attribute it to me, and don't use it commercially without my permission”.

Hence, the question:  Margaret Wente is a very well-paid columnist with a history of some questionable attribution issues (browse the archives).  And perhaps Mr. Weinberger is fine with people borrowing his work.  But if the quotes and other material that appear in her column reflect work done by another writer, why not credit them?