A battery of journalism professionals and academics representing a host of major organizations in late 2012 and early 2013 conducted research aimed at producing practical recommendations for combating and dealing with plagiarism and fabrication. Their conclusions were presented at the National Summit on Plagiarism and Fabrication, part of the 2013 ACES conference in St. Louis.
The group was recruited by Teresa Schmedding, the ACES president, and was headed by William G. Connolly, a retired senior editor of the New York Times. It was divided into three committees, each studying one aspect of the problem – how to define it, how to prevent it, and how to deal with it when necessary.
Among the organizations represented in the effort are the Associated Press Media Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Online News Association, the American Society of News Editors, the Canadian Association of Journalists, the Radio-Television Digital News Association, the Local Independent Online News Publishers, and the College Media Advisers.
It's all about trust: Takeaways from the summit
The summit in tweets: Feel like you were there in this Storify
Key players: Copy editors play big role in fighting plagiarism
Catch it: Bill Connolly's tips for spotting fabrication
The blog that started it all: Craig Silverman's "Summer of Sin" post that got the summit going
After the Summit: ACES moves forward with efforts to fight plagiarism
Guest post: Another crack at an old problem of plagiarism
Advice on attribution, from the two-part series by Poynter's Ellyn Angelotti, c/o Steve Buttry's blog.
Princeton University's examples of plagiarism, from the Academic Integrity section of its website.
Duke University's guidance on avoiding plagiarism (with video).
The Writing Center at Michigan State University: Basic guidance on plagiarism.
Queen's University's Queens Learning Center: Video tutorial on avoiding plagiarism.
Purdue Global's plagiarism and paraphrasing guidance.
Documentary on Jayson Blair, "A Fragile Trust": According to the film's web page, "A FRAGILE TRUST" tells the shocking story of Jayson Blair, the most infamous serial plagiarist of our time, and how he unleashed the massive scandal that rocked The New York Times and the entire world of journalism. In 2003 Blair was caught plagiarizing the work of other reporters and supplementing his own reporting with fabricated details in dozens of different stories published in the Times. ...Through the course of the film, we follow Blair as he slowly unravels in the face of mounting pressures and distractions. Starting with his ‘reporting’ of the plagiarized article that ultimately lead to his undoing, we trace the rise and fall of this fascinating young reporter as he clings to his career at the Times even as he is losing his mind."
The website includes a Resources page.