Cooks Source magazine received a flood of protest when they published “A Tale of Two Tarts” by Monica Gaudio–without the author’s knowledge or permission.
Gaudio contacted the editor looking for a written apology and a $130 (10 cents per word for her 1,300-word article) donation to the Columbia School of Journalism. The editor responded that Gaudio’s writing was featured in a “public domain” forum which means they are not compelled to ask for permission or pay monetary compensation.
Literary blogger Edward Champion investigated, uncovering many more articles lifted from other sources without attribution. Gaudio received waves of support at her site and at Cooks Source‘s old Facebook page. The flood of protest caused them to move to this new page.
Here’s more lifted passages uncovered in Champion’s report: “[T]he magazine often pilfers the images which accompany the content. Such was the case with two entries stolen from the website, Simply Recipes. In Cooks Source‘s July 2010 issue, the Simply Recipes entry on tandoori chicken was taken wholesale from the website, with the photo merely flipped over in print. (On the same page, a sidebar item on garam masala recycles text from the Wikipedia entry.)”
How would you respond to this kind of plagiarism? Leave a response in the comments section.