Shameless

The Paris Hilton of Punditry, Ann Coulter, strikes again. Or...should I say...doesn't. At least not in her own words and thoughts. It appears that our favourite, flaxen-haired pundit is being exposed (again) for the fraud that she is. One, two, three....Aaaaawwwwww.

The good folks of iThenticate have performed a valuable community service and ran Annie's latest book, G-dless, through their software. Lo and behold, the results for Ms Coulter are not favourable. Ms Coulter is not a dyed-in-the-wool conservative, she is a scam artist. A stain on journalistic integrity. I say this not because every fibre of my being disagrees with her, I say this because apparently, she has been engaging in the practice of plagiarism.

On Wednesday, 05 July, Keith Olbermann treated his viewers to an interview with John Barrie of iThenticate. The results are damning, and you can read the entire interview here if you so desire.

Editor & Publisher has (along with numerous members of the blogosphere) been following this story, as well. According to their article dd 06 July 2006, the Universal Press Syndicate (Coulter's publisher) will now be investigating the claims.

The Holy Trinity of mortal sins in journalism is:

1. Lying/Fabricating
2. Slander & Libel
3. Plagiarism

The Holy Trinity is constantly reinforced in journalism school. If you are ethical, if you have a soul, if you care about your craft, you, as a journalist, do not engage in this form of douchebaggery. You just do not.

People may be shrugging off Annie's sins since she is just a pundit. She is a bag of hot air, with little credibility, who dodges any sort of critique with barbs like:

"Once considered a legitimate daily, the Post has been reduced to tabloid status best known for Page Six's breathless accounts of Paris Hilton's latest ruttings, and headlines like 'Vampire Teen -- H.S. Girl Is Out for Blood.' How crappy a newspaper is the Post? Let me put it this way: It's New York's second-crappiest paper."

"Maybe the Post's constant harassment of me is an attempt to shake me down for protection money like they did with billionaire businessman Ron Burkle. I have sold a LOT of books -- more books, come to think of it, than any writers at the New York Post."

When one's best defense to an allegation as severe as plagiarism is to resort to profitability, one doesn't have much terra firma to stand on.

It is true that Ms Coulter is a pundit. But pundits, columnists and OpEd writers are still bound to the same code of ethics, same standards of morality and truth as reporters. The "Fourth Estate" is what makes American democracy possible. Americans need the Fourth Estate. It's a necessity. When people such as Jayson Blair, Dan Rather and (allegedly) Ann Coulter besmirch the truth and the ethical standards of journalism, they not only deceive the public, they chip away at the foundation of democracy by calling into question the integrity of all journalists.

*co-written by Dock Ellis, Ohio University School of Journalism, 1993