What Merv Block said.

There's a growing brouhaha about GOP candidate for Colorado Governor Scott McInnis and charges of plagiarism. Read more about it in this Denver Post article and this one from 9NEWS. As for the political ramifications of this, that's up to the candidate and ultimately voters. This post is about plagiarism.

Plagiarism is nothing new in politics (Ask Joe Biden) or journalism. It's why someone invented the word plagiarism.

It's so easily avoided if you just follow a great rule taught to me by news writer extraordinaire Merv Block. I got to know, and more importantly learn from Merv during my 8 years on the board of directors of the Radio-Television-Digital News Association. (RTDNA) Merv used to write for Walter Cronkite and any friend of Uncle Walter is a friend of mine!

"Attribution before assertion," Merv taught me. In other words, before you say it or write it, attribute the source. If anything else, it lends credibility to what you do. It's good journalism.

To be fair, it's easy to plagiarize something and simply not realize it. Maybe a thought comes to mind from something you read or saw years ago. You remember a good point and simply include it without attribution because you honestly didn't think it was needed. Mistakes happen. Mistakes can be corrected. Stealing can't.

For the life of me, I've never understood why respected people make wholesale use of other people's work and claim it for their own. Attribution is easy, it's ethical and again simply lends credibility to what you do.

OK, all that said, it turns out McInnis was paid $300,000 for the articles in question by the Hasan Family Foundation. $300,000!

Nice work if you can get it. If you do, remember: "Attribution before assertion."

Thanks for the many good lessons you taught me Merv. Merv also taught me that good writing is re-writing. I'm still working on that part.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters LLC
"We start the conversation about you"