In our nearly six-year history, we have published content solely on the new and exciting developments coming for Norman. However, this post is not about a new and exciting development in Norman. While we remain hard at work to produce new content that we are excited to bring to you soon, we believe this matter is too great to not address.
Recently, a reporter for the OU Daily plagiarized one of our stories. This reporter is a senior journalism student at the university. From our account, the reporter lifted 85% of their piece directly from our content, with another 10% of the article containing very similar language to our original content. The reporter can be attributed a total of eight unique words in the entire piece. This piece was published by the OU Daily just days after our original content and was attributed to their reporter.
Upon this discovery by Norman Development, we promptly took our concerns to the Editor-in-Chief of the OU Daily. We asked them to properly attribute the story to its true author Norman Development, and to publish a formal apology for this act against journalistic integrity. Instead of taking action to correct their unethical conduct, the OU Daily Editor-in-Chief stated in their reply: “Our post noted and attributed facts such as name, location, and investment amounts that would be in any piece written about this development and therefore, we do not view this to constitute plagiarism.” The article remains posted on the OU Daily’s website and credited to their reporter.
As we have learned over the past week, the OU Daily and their reporters are beholden to only one person: their editor. No faculty or staff in the college of journalism or the entire university have jurisdiction over the content produced by the OU Daily or the conduct and actions of its reporters or editor. This prevents potential censorship on topics by university administration and faculty, and limits the university’s liability if lawsuits against the publication were to occur. The OU Daily only answers to themselves.
The Society of Professional Journalists, of which the OU Daily and their reporters recently received awards from the Oklahoma chapter, states on their website: “Integrity and credibility, two of the most important values in journalism, demand that all media outlets be clear about the source of stories they did not produce.” The OU Daily and their reporter have clearly violated these values. In our view, any journalistic publication in violation of these values would be shameful. For a journalistic institution sponsored by a prestigious university and associated with a renowned journalism school, we feel these actions are reprehensible.
We spend hours each week researching, writing, and editing the content that we bring to you. We do not do this work for fame, notoriety, or monetary gain. We do this because we love Norman, and because it is our way of fostering a more open and informed community dialogue around issues related to growth and development for our residents and stakeholders. It is our way to have a small impact on our great city and we love creating this space for this dialog to happen. This is our mission today as it has been since the day began publishing almost six years ago.
We denounce the OU Daily, their reporter, and their editor for their actions and response in this matter. Our request remains that the OU Daily properly attribute the plagiarized content to its true author, Norman Development, and issue a formal apology for their unethical actions. Although our publication is small, we do not feel it is equitable that our or any other creators’ content is stolen. We implore the OU Daily to do what is right by us, and to uphold the values of journalistic integrity and credibility for themselves, their editor, and their reporters.