Saturday, August 11, 2012

Fareed Zakaria borrowed from me too - on CNN



In wake of the news regarding Fareed Zakaria’s plagiarism suspension from Time and CNN, I was reminded of a feeling that I had last year: he borrowed from me too.

In October 2011, I filed a three-part report about Argentina’s economy for CNN. My three (1, 2, 3 ) video reports and subsequent CNN.com article -- all of which I conceived, pitched, reported, wrote and produced on my own -- served as a preview to the October 23, 2011 presidential election in Argentina, which incumbent President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner won in a landslide

A week later, on October 30, 2011, Fareed Zakaria aired a report about Argentina on his CNN show “GPS.” 

After watching his video column, and reading the text article published on CNN.com, I couldn't help but feel that Zakaria had borrowed heavily from my original reporting. Some phrases in his report were lifted nearly verbatim from the scripts of my TV packages, and examples and anecdotes of mine were repeated too -- without attribution. Moreover, some of the exact video sequences used in my reports appeared in his too.

I had spoken on the phone with a "GPS" producer in New York a few days prior to October 30th, and I passed the links to my reports and shared some stories and insights with him, so I knew that Zakaria was going to speak about Argentina on his show, but I was surprised at the extent of which he had borrowed from my reporting.

Granted, all of these stories aired on CNN, but I don't think CNN -- or any other media outlet -- would encourage or tolerate such borrowing from within its own ranks without giving proper credit. 

At the time, I expressed this concern to some colleagues and family, but I did not pursue the matter. Given the recent developments questioning Zakaria's reporting, I thought it made sense to bring it up now.

I am not suggesting that this is full-on plagiarism, but the similarities are undoubtedly there. 

Some examples:


1. Byrnes:
"In December 2001, Argentina defaulted on $100 billion in debt -- the largest default in history. The move ushered in an era of utter chaos: five presidents in two weeks, cash and food shortages, deadly riots and dire poverty."

Zakaria:
"In December of 2001, it declared the largest debt default in history, sparking a period of all-out chaos - there were five presidents in just two weeks."


"And it was disastrous for the Argentine people: many in the middle class had their entire bank savings wiped out, leading to deadly riots and widespread poverty."


2. Byrnes:
"While people in the U.S. and Europe are tightening their belts, Argentines are partying. Restaurants and nightclubs are packed nightly. Apartment sales are soaring. International rock stars, like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Ricky Martin have all played to capacity crowds here in recent weeks."

Zakaria:
"People are partying - nightclubs and restaurants are packed; and rockstars from all over the world are adding Buenos Aires to their list of must-tour cities."

3. Byrnes:
"According to analysts, the crash occurred because of Argentina's enormous debt load, high public spending and overvalued currency. Greece now carries similar burdens, which has led some observers to suggest that Greece should follow Argentina's example and default and devalue."


Zakaria:
"They have done well to emerge from it, helped especially by the devaluation of their currency. (If only Greece and Italy had that option, there would be no Euro crisis.)"

4. Byrnes:
"But Argentina's sustained economic growth has come with a cost: inflation. Officially, inflation in Argentina is around 9 percent annually, but according to various analysts and many Argentines, it is a nearly three times that number."

Zakaria:
"But the success of Argentina's comeback may also be blinding the country to a build up of problems. Loose money, large subsidies and a cheap currency are leading to inflation. While Kirchner's administration puts the figure around 9%, that number is widely regarded to be doctored. Reliable private estimates put it closer to 25%."

5. Byrnes:
"According to watchdog group Global Trade Alert, Argentina has taken 14 protectionist measures over the last three months, more than Brazil, India and China combined."

Zakaria:
"While the remedy to that is structural reform, Kirchner has instead resorted to crude protectionism. And external headwinds are on the way - a global slowdown will mean lower incomes from agriculture and reduced demand from China and Brazil."


Here are my three video reports (on left) and the CNN.com text article:


And here is Fareed Zakaria’s video/article:


What do you think?

FYI, This is not the first time my work has been lifted. In 2008, the New York Times Travel section plagiarized an article I wrote about Ex-Pats living in Buenos Aires. 

Where was my article published? Newsweek International.

Who was the editor of Newsweek International at that time? Fareed Zakaria. 

The New York Times never ran a correction, and to the best of my knowledge, Newsweek International editors didn't pursue one.