Can You Plagiarise Yourself?

[Pete Incaviglia]

I'm writing a column and I need to reference something that happened a month ago on my beat. That something made into my BLOG! but not into print. It's just a second example of something I'm writing the column about.

Can I just cut and paste from my own BLOG!, which is part of my newspaper and part of my job?

Or, do I need to rewrite it, rethink it, or reference "with files from Podunk Press" at the end?

 

[lono]

You're OK.

It's hard to plagiarise yourself, although Charles Barkley once claimed he misquoted himself.

 

[HejiraHenry]

You can't plagiarize yourself. Ask John Fogerty. who spent a lot of time and money to prove it.

But, in this case, I think you'd be better served to rewrite – and maybe even streamline or improve – what you blogged about a month ago. Surely in the passage of time you have gained some additional insight into whatever it is you wrote about then.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Didn't a columnist get fired for doing exactly this about a year ago?

 

[Diabeetus]

You can plagiarize yourself. Rewrite and rethink it.

 

[schiezainc]

You most certainly can plagiarise yourself. My college had a long discussion about this topic in my junior year. Seems some kids were getting in trouble for using the same paper for two classes and argued that since it was their own work, it shouldn't have been an issue. The college ruled that with the basic definition of plagiarism being one which prevents using another's work as your own, using a previously submitted paper for a previous assignment and attempting to use it for a new assignment is like stealing another person's work.

As for your column, I would say just rewrite it a little so it's not an issue. I doubt anyone would have a problem with it, but you never want to put yourself in a gray area if you don't have to.

 

[Joe Williams]

Rewrite, anyway. Asking a sports scribe to think in the first place, much less rethink, is asking too much.

Or just quote yourself, which saves you the rewriting and strokes your ego at the same time.

 

[IGotQuestions]

Hope this doesn't make too much sense: Ask your editor for an answer.

 

[ADifferentOkie]

I've talked to my boss about this very issue. His view (and it's mine too) is it's fine as long as it's not something you wrote for another publication.
If you go to a new paper and plagiarize an old story of yours, you have a problem because of the copyright.
If you're still at the same paper, I don't see a problem.
Still, I'd certainly be careful and make sure nothing has changed that would affect what I wrote the first time.

 

[fishwrapper]

You can plagiarize yourself. Absolutely.
Recast it. Cite it. Note it. Rewrite it. Whatever.
Just don't slap it in there and call it yours (again).

 

[ADifferentOkie]

What about a case where you have to keep putting background information in repeatedly?
For example, cops and courts reporters often have the same background several times as news breaks on a certain case.
I don't see a problem with them using the same paragraph a few times, as long as it's all still relevant.

 

[fishwrapper]

"B matter" and "lifting paragraphs" are two different things.
Do we really need to explain the two?

 

[ADifferentOkie]

Apparently you do, because I have no idea what "B matter" is.

 

[Joe Williams]

What about a case where you have to keep putting background information in repeatedly?
For example, cops and courts reporters often have the same background several times as news breaks on a certain case.
I don't see a problem with them using the same paragraph a few times, as long as it's all still relevant.

That hardly is plagiarism. That's boilerplate. If you take a graf or two of basic, factual information that is written in a concise matter, you're not going to face plagiarism charges. And might not even if were lifted from another publication, if it's deep in your story and in the public domain. You can always cover your ass, too, by including lines like, "... as previously reported in the Podunk News" (if it's your own stuff) or "... as reported in the Bum**** Bugle" (if it's someone else's stuff).

Now get on with it. You've spent more time anguishing here on this post then it would have taken to recast the info in an updated version. Or just include attribution to your current publication or even to yourself. Done.

 

[fishwrapper]

Let me clarify. By strict definition, it is difficult to plagiarize oneself.
But, it is -- undeniably -- disingenious to copy one's work and pass it off as new.
I mean, you don't see the issue with this?

 

[21]

Don't do it. ESPECIALLY if it originally appeared a month ago. It's not even a matter of plagiarism, it's just lazy and lame. Someone will notice. Doesn't look good.

 

[fishwrapper]

Apparently you do, because I have no idea what "B matter" is.

Joe did it for me.

 

[ADifferentOkie]

Let me clarify. By strict definition, it is difficult to plagiarize oneself.
But, it is -- undeniably -- disingenious to copy one's work and pass it off as new.
I mean, you don't see the issue with this?

I agree I wouldn't copy just for the sake of copying, and I wouldn't do it at all unless we were talking about background info, so I guess you and I essentially agree.
I'm just saying I don't think using a sentence you've already written before is automatically wrong.

 

[Joe Williams]

As someone who covered one team for a dozen seasons and wrote hundreds of game stories on deadline, both early and late versions, I have little doubt that I "plagiarized" myself unintentionally on one or more occasions.

Sometimes you forget whether you've used a lead or a wisecrack. I'm more likely to know if I'm ripping off someone else than if I'm ripping off myself by using something I a) only thought of or b) actually wrote.

Fortunately, nobody ever waved a side-by-side comparison in my face to charge me with plagiarism, amnesia or senility.

 

[RFB-Boy]

I don't like the idea of reusing blocks of text in a story. It reeks of lack of effort. Now, if it's a quote or passage from an important document previously transcribed and properly attributed, that's different. But if we're talking of our own work, sheesh, it doesn't take that long to do a simple rewrite. There are always different ways of conveying what you're trying to convey. Processing the information also keeps it fresh in your mind. Side effects include better writing.