http://rawstory.com/news/2005/printthis.php?p=125Another Talon News ‘reporter’ found plagiarizing mainstream press
Blogger catches another round of Talon News plagiarism
RAW STORY
2/24/2005 @ 3:21 pm EST
Another ‘reporter’ from the conservative website that employed discredited White House reporter Jeff Gannon was plagiarizing copy from Fox News and the Associated Press, RAW STORY has learned.
Ron Brynaert, author of the progressive WhyAreWeBackInIraq weblog, has found at least two instances in which Talon correspondent Leslie Wetzel copied verbatim or near-verbatim content from articles written by Fox News and the Associated Press.
Wetzel joins a second Talon reporter, Steve Roeder, who Brynaert found was lifting copy from Fox, Reuters and the New York Times.
For the ease of the reader, RAW STORY is reproducing sections from the two articles which Wetzel apparently copied. Further examples can be found at WhyAreWeBackInIraq.blogspot.com.
The first article concerns a federal judge’s ruling that the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act was unconstitutional. Talon published strikingly similar stories to those carried by Fox News and the Associated Press. Talon has removed the articles from their website and since declared the site on hiatus.
AP: “She agreed with abortion rights activists that a woman’s right to choose is paramount, and that it is therefore “irrelevant” whether a fetus suffers pain, as abortion foes contend.”
Talon: “Judge Hamilton agreed with pro-abortion activists that a woman’s right to choose is paramount, and that it is therefore “irrelevant” whether a fetus suffers pain.”
AP: “The challenge was brought by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the ruling applies to the nation’s 900 or so Planned Parenthood clinics and their doctors, who perform about half the 1.3 million abortions done each year in the United States.”
Talon: “The challenge was brought by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The ruling applies to all of the approximately 900 Planned Parenthood clinics and their doctors, who perform virtually half of the 1.3 million abortions performed each year in the United States.”
AP: “Planned Parenthood lawyer Beth Parker welcomed the ruling, saying it sends a “strong message” to the Bush administration “that the government should not be intruding on very sensitive and private medical decisions.”
Talon: “Beth Parker, attorney for Planned Parenthood, welcomed the ruling, saying that it “sends a strong message” to President Bush and his administration that the government “should not be intruding on very sensitive and private medical decisions."”
AP: “Justice Department attorneys argued the procedure is inhumane, causes pain to the fetus and is never medically necessary. A government lawyer told the judge that it “blurs the line of abortion and infanticide."”
Talon: “Justice Department attorneys argued the procedure is inhumane, causes pain to the fetus, and is never medically necessary, “blurring the line of abortion and infanticide."”
AP: “Abortion proponents argued, however, that a woman’s health during an abortion is more important than how the fetus is terminated, and that the banned method is often safer than a conventional abortion, in which the fetus is dismembered in the womb and then removed in pieces.”
Talon: “Abortion proponents argue that a woman’s health during an abortion is more important than how the fetus is terminated, and that the banned method is often a safer solution than a conventional abortion, in which the fetus is dismembered in the womb and then removed in pieces.”
AP: “Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, the chief sponsor of the House bill, said the banned abortion method “has no place in a civilized society,” and predicted the Supreme Court would decide the outcome.”
Talon: “Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH), the chief sponsor of the House bill, said the banned abortion method “has no place in a civilized society,” and predicted the Supreme Court would decide the outcome.”
AP: “They warned that the law could be used to ban almost all second-trimester abortions, which account for about 10 percent of all abortions in the United States.”
Talon: “Abortion rights advocates said the law could ban almost all second-trimester abortions, which account for about 10 percent of all abortions in the United States.”
Fox News: “Racicot said Tuesday’s ruling is a “stark reminder” of the choice Americans must make in November when they go to the polls and vote for Bush or Kerry as the next president.”
Talon: “Racicot added that Tuesday’s ruling is a “stark reminder” of the choice Americans must make in November when they go to the polls and vote for Bush or Kerry as the next president.”
Fox News: “Bush-Cheney re-election campaign chairman Marc Racicot said the ruling is a prime example of “why America needs judges who will interpret the law and not legislate from the bench."”
Talon: “Bush-Cheney reelection campaign chairman Marc Racicot said the ruling is a prime example of “why American needs judges who will interpret the law and not legislate from the bench."”
The second article deals with former Sen. Max Cleland’s delivering a letter to President Bush regarding the Swift Boat attacks. Talon’s Wetzel appears to have copied from Reuters. The following similarities were found by Brynaert and emailed to RAW STORY and have not yet appeared on his blog.
Talon: “The Bush campaign sent its own supporters, including a war veteran, to meet Cleland and supporters of Kerry at a security checkpoint just down the road from the entrance to Bush’s ranch.”
Reuters: “The Bush campaign dispatched its own supporters, including a war veteran, to meet Cleland and supporters of the Democratic nominee at a security checkpoint just down the road from the entrance to Bush’s secluded ranch.”
Talon - “Patterson had his own letter for Kerry, signed by him and other veterans, that criticized Kerry’s anti-war comments after he returned from Vietnam.”
Reuters: “Patterson had his own letter for Kerry, signed by him and other war veterans, that criticized Kerry’s anti-war comments after he returned from Vietnam.”
Talon: “Cleland rolled his wheelchair back and forth across the road and around barricades trying to give the letter to a Secret Service agent, state trooper, or a Bush aide, all of whom evaded him.”
Reuters: “Cleland rolled his wheelchair back and forth across the road and around barricades trying to give the letter to a Secret Service agent, state trooper or a Bush aide, all of whom evaded him.”
Talon: “White House spokesman Scott McClellan described Cleland’s appearance at Crawford as a “political stunt."”
Reuters: “White House spokesman Scott McClellan described Cleland’s appearance at Crawford as a “political stunt".”
Talon: “Cleland lost his own 2002 bid in Georgia for reelection to the U.S. Senate after a bitter campaign in which Republicans questioned his patriotism. Cleland lost both his legs and one arm while serving in Vietnam”
Reuters: “Cleland lost his own 2002 bid in Georgia for re-election to the U.S. Senate after a bitter campaign in which Republicans questioned his patriotism. Cleland lost both his legs and one arm while serving in Vietnam.”
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