Why write a story when you can copy a press release?

Oooooooh SHAME on the Bangor Daily News and The Bar Harbor Times! Both papers wrote almost identical stories last week on the Trenton man who suffered injuries from falling from his tree stand. (Why this is really news in the first place is astonishing to me...but anyway.)

I had heard the story on the radio and then read Al Diamon's blog Media Mutt on the writing scandal.

Plagiarism? Yes, but as it turns out, not of each other. Both papers copied large amounts of their coverage from a news release put out by the Maine Warden Service. Except for the first paragraphs, the articles track the release almost exactly.

The release: “Harrison Sawyer, 56, of Trenton set out at approximately 6:30 yesterday from Pittston Farm, canoed across the north branch of the Penobscot River and trekked to the location where he has hunted for several years.”

The Bar Harbor Times: “Harrison Sawyer, 56, of Trenton set out at approximately 6:30 a.m. from Pittston Farm, canoed across the north branch of the Penobscot River and trekked to the location where he has hunted for several years.”

The Bangor Daily News: “Harrison Sawyer, 56, left Pittston Farm at about 6:30 a.m., canoed across the north branch of the Penobscot River and trekked to a spot where he has hunted for several years, according to Deborah Turcotte, spokeswoman for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.” -- from Al Diamon

Is it a case of laziness? Small staff? Who knows. It is, in any case, irresponsible and unacceptable.

I make sure to teach my students that a press release is NOT a news source. It is a source to be used in having interviews and writing your story. They should be used as a first step in creating a news story -- not the ONLY step.