Soccer Journalism: Blatant British plagiarism of Grant Wahl

Posted by Creaven on July 2, 2009 under England, Media | 6 Comments to Read

You’re at a party and the discussion turns to world events. Some dude, usually wearing a Ralph Lauren polo shirt and Sarah Palin glasses, says, “I get all my news from the BBC.” It’s his way of saying, “I’m an intellectual and the American press is for idiots.”

If that story sounds eerily familiar, it should. According to a British university research study, 36 percent of traffic on British news sites come form the United States. I’m not sure if Americans find the British accent “smart sounding” or if Jon Stewart has soured an entire generation off American media, but, whatever the reason, many Americans believe they can find more substantive and quality journalism across the pond than they can at home. It’s not true.

It’s not that the American media is particularly good (I would argue it’s particularly poor), but there are at least certain basic rules that must be followed. For example, you can’t copy someones work; there are copyright and intellectual property laws. In Britain, these laws are much weaker and on occasion — like the recent story about Landon Donovan calling out David Beckham — sometimes ignored.

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