Guest Commentator for Arkansas Paper Said to Have Plagiarized

Posted Tuesday, February 26, 2008 12:00 am

By: E&P Staff Much of a guest commentary in an Arkansas newspaper was apparently lifted from a long-ago column by King Features Syndicate writer Charley Reese.

The Baxter Bulletin of Mountain Home, Ark., reported today that the fourth through 12th paragraphs of a local resident's "Vote for Change" piece last Friday matches what Reese wrote more than 20 years ago.

According to the Bulletin, King Features confirmed yesterday that it was Reese's words that were lifted.

The guest commentator told the Bulletin yesterday that he got what turned out to be Reese's words in an e-mail from a friend, and then sandwiched those words between a number of his own paragraphs at the beginning and end of the column.

The Bulletin said it "regrets the unauthorized use of Reese's work, and we are taking precautions to see that it doesn't happen again." And the paper is "considering adding an occasional column by Reese to our opinion page offering."

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Guest Commentator for Arkansas Paper Said to Have Plagiarized

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