Image via Joe Amditis.

Why can’t some newsrooms give credit where it’s due?

Especially when it comes to hyperlocal news orgs, getting your work ripped off happens frequently

NJ News Commons member Matt Skoufalos — editor and publisher of the hyperlocal news organization NJ Pen — recently ran into a problem that’s all-too-familiar for local and hyperlocal publishers: Other news organizations ripping off his reporting without crediting him or his local news organization.

This is a common issue, especially for small, digital-native news organizations. The culprit is often legacy broadcast or print newsrooms doing the ripping off — other times, it’s an aggregation-focused news site.

In Skoufalos’ case, he had recently published original reporting on a “white student union” that had allegedly been formed at Collingswood High School, a group that began “as a joke that evolved into bullying and defacing a vehicle with racial slurs.” Some students were disciplined as a result and criminal charges are possible.

NJ Pen broke the story on April 9 after bringing the information to district leaders. Skoufalos did follow-up reporting, gave an interview to NJ Spotlight News, and continued investigating.

A week later, the Philadelphia Inquirer published a story on the topic, with reporter Melanie Burney linking to NJ Pen’s original reporting in the second paragraph, acknowledging the scoop.

However, later that day, 6ABC Action News aired a story referring to an “unofficial club” at the school, without any mention that NJ Pen had first reported on the “white student union” — a specific phrase that had not been used by the school district, prosecutor’s office or any other outlet without attributing it to NJ Pen’s reporting.

In the following hours, several other outlets, including the Courier-Post, WHYY, and AOL, aggregated the 6ABC story, attributing key details to the TV station rather than NJ Pen. Some of those outlets, including the Courier-Post and WHYY, later made corrections after hearing from Skoufalos.

The Courier-Post and WHYY later updated their stories to include proper attribution to NJ Pen. As of this writing, the AOL story still does not mention NJ Pen.

As a community-driven local news site, NJ Pen has a policy of always crediting other outlets by name and linking to their work when citing their reporting, especially for investigative pieces.

“It takes two seconds to do, and in no way diminishes our own reporting,” Skoufalos wrote. “Failing to acknowledge that other people are operating in the same space as us, who sometimes get out in front of things that matter to our readers, would not only be ignorant of the diversity of the local media landscape in which we operate, but it would also be unethical and unprofessional.”

This is a pervasive problem, according to other local publishers I’ve spoken to. Krystal Knapp of Planet Princeton says it happens to her all the time, and it can have a big impact on the ability of local and community news outlets to keep producing original reporting.

People should understand the importance of independent hyperlocal and local news outlets. “We’re often the originators of so much of the news that keeps people informed,” Knapp said.

Often times, even when larger outlets do credit or link to the original local reporting or publication, there is still an unspoken assumption that the small outlet should be grateful for the exposure. But that assumption isn’t always shared by all parties, especially the smaller publications.

“I feel there this is this sense of entitlement among bigger news outlets that they can steal without crediting because of who they are,” Knapp said. “I just feel like they stomp on the smaller ones. That’s why I’m hesitant to collaborate now too, because I just feel like they only care about it for what’s in it for them and that we should feel like, ‘Oh, we’re so lucky and grateful to be a part of this.’”

It ultimately comes down to “respecting our work and giving credit where credit is due for the hard work that goes into local reporting,” Knapp said.

But it’s not just an issue of proper credit and professional kudos.

“It directly impacts my business’s SEO too,” Knapp added. “Proper credit and links raise awareness about local news websites and drive traffic to them. Such traffic leads to more readership and potentially more revenue, as advertisers often base their buying decisions on website traffic numbers.”

While news organizations of all sizes play an important role, there must be a basic commitment to journalistic ethics, Skoufalos argues. If a TV station or newspaper’s work stems from the original reporting of another outlet, especially a smaller local one, there’s an obligation to acknowledge that. Failing to do so undermines trust and reliability.

“If you want to call yourself reporters, and you say you’re going to be professional about your work and that you stand behind your work, stand behind it all the way,” he said. “If my reporting is good enough to take, it’s good enough to say where you took it from. It’s a basic journalistic principle.”

Best practices and common courtesies

In the spirit of collaboration and professional courtesy, here are eight best practices that publications can — and should — follow when using or repurposing original reporting from other outlets:

1. Proper attribution: Always credit the original source of the reporting by explicitly naming the publication and/or reporter. Use phrases like “As first reported by [Publication]…” or “According to reporting from [Reporter] at [Publication]…”
2. Specific linking: When referencing the original reporting online, include a hyperlink directly to the specific article or piece of reporting in question, rather than just linking to the publication’s homepage or a general section page. This directs readers to the original source material.
3. Building rapport: Foster a collaborative relationship with other outlets and publishers. Reach out to discuss shared attribution practices, cross-promotional opportunities, and ways to support and elevate each other’s work. Building trust and establishing norms around attribution benefits the entire journalistic ecosystem.
4. Timeliness: Attribute and link to the original source in a timely manner, ideally as soon as you publish your own piece that references or builds upon their reporting. Don’t wait for the original outlet to request credit.
5. Prominence: Ensure that attribution and links are prominently placed within your article or video, not buried at the bottom or mentioned as an afterthought. Crediting should be clear and unmissable to the audience.
6. Social media: When sharing or discussing stories on social media that originated with other outlets, tag their accounts and reporters to provide credit and enable readers to discover the original source.
7. Corrections + updates: If you fail to properly attribute reporting upfront, promptly issue a correction and update your piece with the appropriate credit and links. Acknowledge the error and make things right.
8. Quoting + paraphrasing: Even if you quote or paraphrase content from the original reporting rather than repeating it verbatim, you should still explicitly note that the information and insights came from the original source. Paraphrased passages can give the appearance of original reporting if not properly attributed.

By adopting these practices consistently, outlets can build a culture of mutual respect, collaboration and ethical reporting standards across the industry.

Joe Amditis is the assistant director of products and events at the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University. Contact him at amditisj@montclair.edu or on Twitter at @jsamditis.

About the Center for Cooperative Media: The Center is a primarily grant-funded program of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. Its mission is to grow and strengthen local journalism and support an informed society in New Jersey and beyond. The Center is supported with funding from Montclair State University, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Democracy Fund, the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium, the Independence Public Media Foundation, Rita Allen Foundation, Inasmuch Foundation and John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. For more information, visit centerforcooperativemedia.org.