Idea Plagiarism: Journalism's Ultimate Heist

A survey (n=953) and 8 interviews reveal journalists reject the notion that the sources of seminal story ideas should be attributed. Broadcasters and those in competitive markets were less likely than other journalists to see idea attribution as important, yet rejection of idea plagiarism was so widespread (74.1%) that no correlations surfaced with job type, career longevity, or ethical decision-making barometers. Although omitting the source of ideas may be widely accepted, it is not benign. Depriving readers of the origin of news limits their ability to critique a story's validity and in some cases precludes them from getting the story at all, as some journalists, especially broadcasters, would rather ignore a story than tacitly acknowledge a competitor.