These are slides for a webinar for Digital First Media staff on attribution, linking and preventing plagiarism.

1. Show Your Work
Linking + attribution =
good journalism + good business
+ good ethics
Digital First Media
October 2013
#DFMlink

2. Plagiarism …
… is a firing offense. Don’t:
• Lift passages from other sources without
attribution & link

3. Plagiarism …
… is a firing offense. Don’t:
• Lift passages from other sources without
attribution & link
• Lift quotes from other media w/o
attribution (to media, not just speaker)

4. Plagiarism …
… is a firing offense. Don’t:
• Lift passages from other sources without
attribution & link
• Lift quotes from other media w/o
attribution (to media, not just speaker)
• Lift from press release without
attribution (& link if it’s online)

5. Plagiarism …
… is a firing offense. Don’t:
• Lift passages from other sources without
attribution & link
• Lift quotes from other media w/o
attribution (to media, not just speaker)
• Lift from press release without
attribution (& link if it’s online)
• Rewrite w/o attribution & link

7. Links = good business
• Better SEO for better search traffic
• Pingbacks, alerts from links bring direct
traffic
• Pingbacks, alerts from links may bring
new inbound links & social mentions
• Links = traffic = revenue = journo jobs

8. Links = good journalism
• Context
• Depth
• Attribution
• Credibility
• Clarity
• Honesty
• Transparency

9. Press releases
• Obligation is to reader, not to our sources
of information
• Best approach (if time permits or story
merits): Use as tip & do original reporting
• If not, quote or rewrite, but attribute &
link (if it’s online)

10. Quotes from other media
• Best course: Seek your own interview &
use fresh quotes. (But if story is
exclusive, acknowledge other story &
link)
• If that doesn’t work: Use quote,
attributing to speaker and media outlet
(even if it’s a competitor)

11. Attribution in social media
• Native “share” or “retweet” carries
attribution
• RT or MT (modified tweet) if adding
comment
• HT or h/t for “heard through” or “hat tip”
• Not necessary to repeat attribution
endlessly in livetweeting

12. Embeds > links
• Embeds are the ultimate attribution
• Embed tweets, videos, slides, source
documents
• Embedding tools: Storify, Spundge,
Scribd, Document Cloud, SlideShare

13. Audio & video > links
• Record video & audio of interviews
• Touts (or longer videos) and audio clips
add multimedia dimensions to stories
• Video & audio of the speaker’s words are
the best attribution & authentication

14. No attribution needed:
• What you witnessed personally
• Common knowledge
• Calendar (unless quoting); source is
implied
• If you re-report, acknowledge that you
weren’t first, but don’t need heavy
attribution to other media

15. Cut & paste
Cutting & pasting from digital sources can
ensure quoting accurately. But:
• Attribute & link before pasting
• Paste into quotation marks or block
quote
• Color code in notes to identify sources
• Sloppiness is guilty plea, not excuse

20. Editors: Demand links
• If stories lack links, editors should ask for
them
• Failure to provide links raises red flag:
Could be plagiarism and/or fabrication
• “Summer of Sin” from 2012

21. Editors: Be skeptical
• Occasionally (always if you’re suspicious)
Google a unique phrase
• If journalist can’t provide links, ask for
documentation
• If you have doubts or if someone accuses
journalist of plagiarism, consult editor,
cluster editor, Jim Brady or me

22. Investigating
• Always take plagiarism & fabrication
accusations seriously
• Examine similarities
• Ask reporter to explain & show notes,
emails, etc.
• Investigate other stories by reporter

23. Linking as BS detection
Journalists covering Manti Te’o’s story of
girlfriend would have exposed the hoax by
seeking links to:
• Obituary
• Story or police report about accident
• Girlfriend’s activities at Stanford
(She did have bogus social media profiles.)

24. Effective attribution
• Write stories with links: Digital First
• Attribute to other media by name,
including competition, not “media
reports” or “a blogger”
• Active voice, not “was reported”
• Attribute to press releases
• Embed tweets, videos

25. Ethical aggregation
• Fair use (excerpt unless you have
permission to use in full)
• Attribute (by author & publication, not
“media reports” or “was reported”)
• Link (even if you get more value, you
drive traffic to the original source)
• Add value (comment, context, content)

26. Credit ideas, too
• If an idea for your story, photo, video or
other project came from someone else’s
work, give credit
• Follow the golden rule: If you’d want
credit if your work inspired someone,
give credit to those who inspire you
• Blog or social media are good places to
credit

27. Call me any time
Plagiarism is an emergency. I’ll respond
quickly if you tell me you’re dealing with a
plagiarism case. Call me at 267-697-9275;
if that doesn’t work, email me:
sbuttry@digitalfirstmedia.com