TV Plagiarism Charge

Re “It May Not Be Plagiarism, but It’s a Rip-Off,” Howard Rosenberg’s July 11 column on KCAL Channel 9’s unattributed use of the pictures and script of a CNN feature: Rosenberg quotes Channel 9’s John Corcoran as saying he would be “highly offended to be called a plagiarist.” Corcoran, if you’re offended you should study that part of the definition of plagiarism that talks about putting your name on someone else’s work.

And shame on KCAL news director Bob Henry for calling it “a non-issue” because KCAL pays for CNN services. Perhaps Corcoran and Henry could explain how such a no-class position is any different from that of some airhead student who claims that he shouldn’t get an F for buying a report from a term-paper mill and putting his own name on it as its author. Well, I guess if he did retype it himself. . . .

TOM BURNS

Acton