Encouraging Transparency in Reporting

The Seattle Times fired associate editor and business columnist Stephen Dunphy last year after learning he’d plagiarized several stories. In response to the incident, a subcommittee of the newsroom’s ethics and standards committee examined what constituted plagiarism and created a set of guidelines for the paper’s reporters and editors to follow.

These clear rules, posted on the Web in FAQ format, will help the editorial staff avoid “unwitting violations of the profession’s ban on word-stealing.” They’ll also give the daily publication’s readers a better understanding and appreciation of the newsgathering process.