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Giving credit to others enhances credibility, trust We are not born knowing common courtesy. Someone has to teach us, and then we have to practice it. We also are not born knowing what plagiarism is, and those of us who haven't learned to avoid it could be in big trouble. Plagiarizing the work of others will get you expelled from a university , fired from a news organization , or dismissed from public office The issue of plagiarism is especially relevant at the moment in Spain, where high-ranking officials in two major political parties have had to respond to evidence of plagiarism?�? here and here ?�?revealed in investigative reports by the web publication eldiario.es and the TV station La Sexta. (See some other examples at the end of this post). Today it is so easy to copy and paste material digitally that some are getting sloppy and careless in newsrooms and academia. Here are some guidelines: On the most basic level, it's common courtesy. Don't take credit for someo...

An all-star group of media economics experts gathered at the University of Navarra Dec. 13 and 14 to exchange ideas and research results on the role and behavior of media during periods of economic or financial boom and crash. Their approaches were varied: historical, media effects, content analysis, journalistic practice, political economy, etc. ( The full program is here .) Many of the presentations centered on media coverage of the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 and its impact in countries including Ireland, England, Greece, Spain, the U.S., the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. The papers provoked lively debate among the participants, since there was significant time between presentations for questions and comments. The studies used ingenious research methods and rigorous statistical analysis to tease out surprising insights. I had the unenviable task of providing a summary at the end, on a Friday night, in just 10 minutes. So here is the cheeky result, with apologies to m...

The following text is a translation from the Spanish version of a lecture I gave at the University of La Sabana in Bogot�, Colombia, on Aug. 22. My lecture, in Spanish, starts at the 6-minute mark of the video. Journalists today have the opportunity to create the future of the industry. But to do so, we have to change some of our long-held beliefs and attitudes. We have to create new business models (O, those awful words!) and learn to say some words without blushing. This need to change comes about because of the nature of our profession, which for most is a vocation. As journalists we have to keep our distance from political and business interests to maintain our credibility. Still, as a group we can be arrogant, self-righteous and holier-than-thou (I include myself in this criticism). We tend to view ourselves as high priests of an exclusive profession and bearers of a special ethical standard that few others can live up to. We see ourselves as purer, more objective, less affecte...

Arsenio Escolar, photo by 20minutos Versi�n en espa�ol HUESCA, Spain -- At first, there was timid, nervous applause from the journalists, professors, and students who were listening to harsh criticism from a respected colleague, Arsenio Escolar, the editor of 20minutos , a free distribution daily that is one of Spain's major digital outlets. Maybe they were recognizing themselves among those who were being criticized. In a call to arms, Escolar urged Spanish journalists to stop being so obsequious to the powerful and to call attention to growing inequality and poverty. "We need a journalism that is fair, transparent, distant from power, ethical, and social," he concluded in the inaugural address at the XVI Digital Journalism Congress in this resort town in northeast Spain. Read more �