Plagiarism is making a comeback, and not just in the world of journalism.
Yesterday Instapundit linked to an interesting story alleging plagiarism by the AP. And who did they steal from? A blogger.
There are many things that bother me about plagiarism, but nothing irks me more than when a mainstream reporter (or organization) with all of the resources of a small nation at their disposal lifts from the small press, freelance journalists, and bloggers.
The big story of course has been this,
A fresh embarrassment for journalism
Commentary: Conservative Domenech quits post.blog
By Jon Friedman, MarketWatchNEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Just when it seemed like journalists had finally moved on beyond the multitude of 21st century scandals that damaged our blessed craft, another bomb explodes.
The profession suffered an embarrassment Friday when a 24-year-old conservative columnist named Ben Domenech exited the Washington Post’s Web site — a mere three days after his introduction, following allegations of plagiarism.
Captain Ed is asking the right question,
The entire tempest surrounding the hiring and termination of Ben Domenech as the Washington Post’s designated conservative blogger shows that the blogosphere has a lot of growing up to do. Between the hysteria, the personal attacks, the revelation of wrongdoing and the triumphalism that followed, bloggers did tremendous damage to themselves.
What a nightmare. Anyway, plagiarism this week has moved beyond the world of journalism into the world of cooking and celebrity chefs. One of my best friends in college was Wylie Dufresne. Wylie has gone on to become a superstar chef in New York City. His original restaurant, 71 Clinton Fresh Food, was an instant classic.
The New York Times on 71 Clinton Fresh Food,
71 Clinton Fresh Food, single-handedly turned the Lower East Side into an up-and-coming restaurant neighborhood, and it made Wylie Dufresne an overnight star…Mr. Dufresne, one of the most distinctive culinary talents in New York…
I had the most amazng meal of my life at that restaurant! Wylie is as good a guy as he is a chef. If youâ??re ever in NYC, check out his new restaurant called WD-50, located at 50 Clinton Street in the lower east side.
Anyway, I like to see what Wylie is up to, where he is travelling or when he is appearing again on TV, so I Google his name occasionally. This time I came across a plagiarism scandal in the food world.
The good feud guide
AMONG Melbourne diners, the food at Robin Wickens’ two-hatted Fitzroy restaurant, Interlude, has inspired such breathless adjectives as “whimsical”, “daring” and “arch”.
But in recent days, a harsher term has been suggested: “plagiarised”.
The storm began 10 days ago on specialist internet forum eGullet, after it was revealed that among Wickens’ offerings was, in fact, a replica of a dish first “invented” at New York’s famed WD-50.
The dish features pureed prawns, reformulated into noodle shapes with the assistance of an enzyme, transglutamate, and served with smoked yoghurt, paprika and nori.
Editorial staff from eGullet have since posted pictures of four other dishes by the 2005 Age Good Food Guide young chef of the year, which emulate creations by Grant Achatz, of Chicago’s Alinea, including a dessert served in a test tube.
There is no question of legal action against Wickens: recipes, no matter how unique, cannot be protected by copyright, nor have they ever been successfully patented.
But chefs and diners have questioned whether Wickens’ conduct in replicating dishes â?? right down to the plating â?? is poor form.
Where will it end, this plagiarism epidemic?