Charlotte Sun Reporter Ed Scott Slaps his Byline on Press Release

Ed Scott should know better. He's a staff writer at "America's Best Community Daily." The water-management district sent around a news release earlier this week. The ethical reporter has two choices: either call the district for the story behind the prepared statement and write original copy, or run the prepared statement in a way that acknowledges that no one on staff checked it out. Scott did neither. He opted, instead, to put his by-line on the news release and run it as his own. The first four paragraphs of the water authority's communique appear word for word under Scott's byline without quotes and without attribution. That's plagiarism. Ed Scott know it, his bosses know it. And now the World Wide Web knows it.