NY Times Rips Off Bonddad

OK -- I'm not sure that's what actually happened, but there are some strong coincidences in this story line that make me raise an eyebrow.  More below the fold

On April 6, I wrote a story for the Huffington Post titled, "The Bush Boom Was a Complete Bust."  I also posted the story on Daily Kos. Central to the story was the Census Bureau's Real Median Household Income, which has dropped for the duration of this expansion.  

Today -- April 9 (three days later) -- the NY times ran a story titled, "For Many A Boom That Wasn't.  That article focuses exclusively on the decline in real median household income without an in-depth analysis of the lack of establishement job growth or rise in corporate debt.

So, three days after my article, the NY Times writes a similar article based on the same information using a fairly similar title.

I have no idea if I was ripped off or not.  The information is publicly available.  But, timing (three days later) and the similarity in titles makes me wonder.

So -- what's the lesson?

The big one is bloggers are ahead of the curve.

The second is people actually do read blogs.

•  Great Work as usual!

  by Jimmy Crackcorn on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:44:24 AM PDT

  •  I diaried on two related reports...

    ...the NY Times column among them, this morning:

    http://www.dailykos.com/...

    I think some shared MSM attention at the same Census report and EPI study.

    by DrSteveB on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:31:18 AM PDT

    •  Why can't they hat-tip when they rip?

      How hard would it be? Toss some credit where it's due? Drives me crazy.

      by rhetoricus on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 10:01:58 AM PDT

      •  Didn't they learn a lesson with Jason Blair?

        Plagerize!  Let no one else's work evade your eyes!

        by ccyd on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 10:11:11 AM PDT

        •  as Tom Lehrer said n/t

          by DrSteveB on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 10:24:51 AM PDT

          •  Lobachevsky!

            Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky!

            by Phoenix Woman on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 11:11:27 AM PDT

            •  Hey! It got Bush through College!!!

              You don't really figure he got an MBA all on his own, do you?

              by exlrrp on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 04:07:40 PM PDT

              •  Better to Stenograph Bonddad than Bushco!

                At least the quality of NYT plagiarization is getting better!

                by exlrrp on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 04:09:44 PM PDT

        •  Only be sure always to call it please, "research"

          by Canadian Reader on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 01:20:24 PM PDT

      •  Bonddad angry!

        Bonddad smash!

        by aztecraingod on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 10:12:25 AM PDT

        •  Jimmy's gonna get you, Kramer

          Elaine believes that Jimmy is the guy she seeks. In reality she is talking to a man that refers to himself in the third person always.
          

          by seesdifferent on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 11:59:01 AM PDT

      •  They never hat-tip

        Instead, they try to rewrite it just enough so that it isn't a word-for-word steal.

        by Phoenix Woman on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 11:10:37 AM PDT

        •  It seems like a failure of imagination.

          On their part.  It seems as if this whole country suffers from a failure of imagination.

          They couldn't write their own story bc they are so removed from the rest of us.  And they say bloggers are removed from real people? Ha!

          by Shhs on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 11:16:15 AM PDT

          •  or

            it could just be a coincidence.  With all due respect to bonddad, I'm sure he wasn't the only one who noticed.

            Also, the Times piece had commentary from distinguished scholars and the like.  Takes a few days to dig that stuff up.

            by CharlieHipHop on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 01:49:49 PM PDT

            •  Quotes are used to pad an article.

              It only takes a day. If the first source is not available, an intern will move on to the next name in the list. The use of quotes makes me suspect it was bonddad's article. Scouring the web for articles, padding them out, and presenting them as your own is a time-honored activity in the major Midwestern paper I have worked for.

              by RAZE on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 01:59:44 PM PDT

      •  Can't hat tip

        "those crazy, left-wing extremists at DailyKos."

        by Phil N DeBlanc on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 12:11:21 PM PDT

  •  Yes, but where are the charts???

    by NearlyNormal on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 10:54:29 AM PDT

  •  Is it great work?

    Let's get serious here. Bonddad spent all of 10 minutes putting this together and it didn't give us any new information.
     
     I respect Bonddad and his work, but I've put more information into forwarding a dirty joke to a friend. So why is this on the top of the rec list?

     As for NY Times ripping off Bonddad, I should point out that I've seen several other sources point out the same information this week. That includes a Bloomberg article.

    by gjohnsit on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 11:07:22 AM PDT

    •  Hey, me first!

      I'm quite certain it was my diary of March 8 that he read:
      http://www.dailykos.com/...
      American Middle Class at a Historical Turning Point?

         And unfortunately it's not a good one.  The Bush crack-up-debt-boom (2002-2007) has expired.  And that economic expansion will mark the first time in 75 years that the American middle class has not made any progress during an economic expansion; to the contrary, the average American household is earning less income now than it was in 1999, the  peak of the last economic expansion.  It appears that the 1999 level may mark the crest of a long term era of expanding middle class wealth, and we may be a decade into a long-term decline in American living standards.  

      Never mind.....

      But you're right, of course.  Any number of us, and any number of other blogs have picked up on the same thing.

      But if it was bonddad, that's great too.  About f*****g time the MSM started picking up on the important facts.

      Cheers.

      by New Deal democrat on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 11:42:36 AM PDT

    •  The point is - If Bonddad doesn't write no one in

      MSM would have thought it Newsworthy and those who get their information only from MSM, which is almost everyone, would have been denied a critical piece of information to use in making the their election choices.

      MSM is a shill for the Corporatocaracy and is loath to mention bad financial news period - unless pushed.

      by rontripp on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 11:46:04 AM PDT

      •  Um, no

        Go over and read the NY Times piece, and compare it with bonddad's.

        Aside from the similarity in headlines and general gist of the first paragraph, the stories reference completely different materials:  bonddad talks about the national debt, the NY Times references studies by the Brookings Institution and the Pew Research Center that bonddad doesn't mention at all.

        Hey, I like bonddad, I respect his work, but the fact-based skepticism that supposedly is used at dK (was it, once upon a time?) is m.i.a. on this thread.

        Cheers.

        by New Deal democrat on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 11:57:10 AM PDT

    •  VERY TENUOUS assertion by the diarist

      NYT was not the only paper to cover the release of a major PEW RESEARCH REPORT whose topic was...

      you guessed it - household perception on the state of progress or lack thereof over the last five years.

      The topic of declining household income is hardly news to anyone who follows statistics that are commonly reported.  The fact that NYT, the AP, Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg, Reuters, Washington Post, WSJ all decided to cover a newsworthy report does not warrant some tenuous assertion based on the two pieces of weak evidence.

      Hat tip to BD for his vigilance on the subject but I think over the line here..

      by sedrunsic on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 12:04:43 PM PDT

  •  I do look forward to your posts!

    by Peperpatch on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 02:23:54 PM PDT

•  Well, you are the goto source, after all.

  Kudos!

  by borkitekt on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:45:08 AM PDT

  •  By the way, Jerome a Paris

    found an aweome, if not shocking find in FT the other day regarding this topic- I found it very insightful.

    JaP: Anglo Disease: the financial press catches on.

    FT: Mind the gap

    by borkitekt on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:48:41 AM PDT

    •  Both bonddad and Jerome a Paris

      are my most trusted sources on economic news and information.  They haven't steered me wrong yet, and, as we already knew and now see from the traditional sources, are wwwwaaaaaaaayyyyyy ahead of the curve on economic issues.

      You do us proud, gentlemen.  I am so glad you are on our team.

      by TigerMom on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:17:18 AM PDT

      •  Don't forget gjohnsit

        He also writes excellent economic diaries.

        by jhecht on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 03:55:30 PM PDT

        •  I haven't read his work

          I'll do a search and get myself caught up.  A tip of the hat to you!

          by TigerMom on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 04:35:56 PM PDT

    •  Financial Times - UGH!

      Can't say if the FT article is plagiarized or not, but I killed it at:

      Much of the old left-right rhetoric is re­appearing in the campaign, carrying with it a strong hint of a reversion to old-style tax-and-spend policies on the Democratic side.

      Versus what, the last 20 years of Republican borrow and spend?  What utter incompetent drivel.

      by JohnnySacks on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:33:35 AM PDT

      •  "Borrow and Bomb"

        is more accurate.  

        by sagra on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:56:22 AM PDT

        •  Seroiusly, that needs to be picked up

          and used "liberally" as an accurate two-word, soundbite, ear-candy description of Rethugs: "The Borrow and Bomb Party." You know, the way they peg us as the "tax and spend party." "Borrow and Bomb makes what the say about us sound pretty damn good in comparison.

          by armenia on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 10:27:57 AM PDT

          •  I like it.

            (The phrase, not the policy.)

            by hannahlk on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 10:46:44 AM PDT

          •  borrow and burn

            by clyde on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 10:55:44 AM PDT

          •  Bankrupt and Ruin Party of Copirate greed.

            by antirove on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 12:13:39 PM PDT

        •  that's excellent--that could get picked up

          I'll start using it!

          by TrueBlueMajority on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 11:38:27 AM PDT

      •  FT is missing the obvious.

        The GOP has "spent and borrowed" America into the fricken' Poor House.  

        by sunbro on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 06:27:20 PM PDT

  •  Olbermann reads DK, otherwise he wouldn't

    have the stories he gets that the other media misses.

    by Flippant on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:54:47 AM PDT

    •  well, he surely seems to have a grasp of history

      and politics through books, imo.

      by borkitekt on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 10:20:29 AM PDT

      •  Partly thanks to that Cornell education

        of which he is quite justly proud. But he clearly is one of those people for whom no amount of information is sufficient -- i.e., exactly the opposite of the moron in the Oval Office.

        by bwintx on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 10:29:20 AM PDT

    •  which just means KO

      is smart for coming to a good source

      also, as Junglered1 says below, I sometimes forward stuff, but I think it's far more he finds it here himself first than somewhere in the huge pile of email Countdown must get

      by nicolemm on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 10:31:49 AM PDT

•  Or, some of us forward diaries like yours

  to all 400 names in that press email list we now have from the Disney/ABC 9/11 movie uproar.

  ;-)

  Well, that's possible too!

  by Junglered1 on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:46:26 AM PDT

•  forward the details to the public editor

  and ask politely if PE could check to see if reporter(s) in question perhaps failed to give credit where credit was due?

  by teacherken on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:46:43 AM PDT

  •  I Agree, Pursue It

    Huffpo and Kos make pretty impeccable proof that you did the story first. 3 days, that's even suspiciouser.

    by Gooserock on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:54:37 AM PDT

    •  Nah, don't pursue it

      If I write that it rained this week in Seattle, it's not exactly a story that I can copyright. If NYT writes next week about the cold, wet spring in the Northwest and cites the same NOAA data that I used, so what? They might even add another fact or two, or a bit more explanation (or less).

      Did the NYT assignment editor "rip me off"? Probably. Would it be nice to receive some MSM recognition? Sure. But more often than not the blogger's satisfaction is that s/he is ahead of the curve. And while the MSM are aping yesterday's blog, we are working on the real news that they'll pursue next week.

      Read the blogs--9 out of 10 MSM assignment editors do!

      by RudiB on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:47:34 AM PDT

      •  BTW, the correct way to pursue this

        is to contact the business page editor at the NYT. Tell 'em you were ahead of the curve on this story (as you often are on other ones). Send 'em a portfolio of your work. Search the NYT archives to see if/when they published similarly themed stories. Ask if they're interested in giving you a regular or occasional column, and negotiate a deal for yourself. eom.

        by RudiB on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:53:37 AM PDT

        •  And another after thought

          The correct way for everyone else to pursue this with the NYT is to write and say: (1) I'm glad you picked up on this important story, (2) I've been reading the same story from bonddad at Daily Kos, and (3) I'd love to see the NYT pick up his writing a regular basis. His analysis would make an outstanding addition to the Times.

          Remember: honey, not vinegar.

          by RudiB on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 10:45:51 AM PDT

          •  done and done

            I wrote to Clark Hoyt this morning, not making a direct accusation but suggesting that it be investigated and if Bonddad was a source that the NYT should give him proper attribution.

            I suggest that others do the same.  Hoyt's eaddress is [e-mail]

            for those new to this:  Clark Hoyt is the "Public Editor" of the NYT, a position formerly called "ombudsman". He is the "reader's representative" and the proper place to send a complaint/question like this.

            by TrueBlueMajority on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 07:24:52 AM PDT

      •  Excellent advice. n/t

        by SarahLee on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 10:12:27 AM PDT

    •  maybe we should ALL drop the public editor a line

      as well as the 'journalist' who copied bondad.

      by byteb on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:48:09 AM PDT

  •  Correct, teacherken.

    (It's fun telling a teacher that he's correct!) ;>)

    It might also be worth the time to have an independent proof reader who was a bit detached (I wouldn't be the least bit detached, so I can't volunteer.) to look at the articles to see what exact words were used. It could prove interesting . . . or not.

    by bleeding heart on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:26:06 AM PDT

  •  ..and perhaps receive compensation for his work?

    I'm just sayin'.. never hurts to ask for some grease for the ol' wheels.

    by Scoopster on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:28:08 AM PDT

    •  yeah, bonddad, maybe it's time you got paid! n/t

      by TrueBlueMajority on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 06:53:42 AM PDT

  •  Along with a copy of your resume. nt

    by the fan man on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 11:02:28 AM PDT

•  MSM is TEH SUCK!!!

  by DJShay on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:48:03 AM PDT

•  This kinda proves the point

  many MSM "journalists" really are lazy.

  They either repeat republican talking points or steal stories from others.

  by istari5th on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:50:23 AM PDT

  •  Sorta Nice That One Stenographizes Reality

    in between the official press releases.

    by Gooserock on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:52:39 AM PDT

    •  Beautiful n/t

      by niteskolar on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:12:19 AM PDT

    •  I'd use this for my sig line

      But really, no one would get it unless they read your comment.

      How could they?

      by vicki on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 10:27:08 AM PDT

  •  are they lazy...

    ...or just the most insecure group of people working for excessive pay in the country????  Given that mainstream journalist is about the traffic in conventional wisdom, maybe they just have to make sure that what they are writing about and printing is stuff that people want to read about.  Thus, they have to check and see what other people are already writing about, blogging about and commenting about.

    Not lazy, just very low self-esteem that requires constant affirmation in the form of "other people's ideas".

    <snark [sort of]>

    by a gilas girl on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:55:00 AM PDT

  •  This is a lose-lose for NYT

    They piss on the left by stealing an article, and they piss on the right by publishing the article that perpetuates their image as "teh librul media," i.e. does not kiss conservatives' asses at every turn.  (What exactly does the right expect to be done about it?  Should Obama refuse to take office if he beats McCain by less than a "liberal media bias handicap?")

    by BlueEngineerInOhio on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 01:24:37 PM PDT

    •  An interesting question arises from your comment

      Why after all these years of obfuscation and pandering to the administration's tilt, should they suddenly be interested in printing the truth?

      by dharmafarmer on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 06:10:49 PM PDT

•  We all know the truth...

  We have the real bonddad right here.  

  by revelwoodie on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:50:42 AM PDT

•  Clinton lifts from Obama, Obama steals from Gov

  Patrick, Biden plagiarizes Neil Kinnock, and now the NYT steals from BondDad.

  This country really is on the wrong track!

  by Oliver W Holmes the 3rd on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:51:01 AM PDT

  •  at least they are all stealing from good sources.

    better then if it went the other way.

    by ETinKC on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:11:00 AM PDT

  •  just goes to show...

    ...that it is very hard to own a good idea.

    by a gilas girl on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:55:36 AM PDT

    •  And not too hard to clone a narrative while

      perhaps altering phrasing, and a few references and sources.

      by antirove on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 12:16:23 PM PDT

•  I think you need to contact the editor...

  Or the ombudsman at least.  Heck, you are good enough to work for a major newspaper.  No, you are too good to work for those papers.

  by RichM on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:51:20 AM PDT

  •  Oh and...

    Reading the DailyKos is liking having your own crystal ball.  I have actually lost nothing during this market crash in my 401k.

    by RichM on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:53:07 AM PDT

  •  Bonddad needs an agent now

    and should go into syndication with his columns. It would be cheaper for the NYTimes to run his stuff from syndication than it is to pay a reporter to do rewrites.

    by GW Chimpzilla on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:19:11 AM PDT

    •  Not if he charged them what he's worth!

      by lineatus on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:23:54 AM PDT

  •  Yes, some things are too

    valuable to be bought.

    by hannah on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:21:38 AM PDT

•  Protip:

  If you don't want the MSM to massively rip you off without crediting you, stop writing such insightful pieces about important issues.

  Geeze, man.  The answer's right in front of you.  ;)

  by Capt America on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:51:54 AM PDT

  •  No, don't stop writing for us!

    I'd write a special column for them and send it in, mentioning that you would be happy to keep them updated on these issues first hand, for a nominal fee, of course.

    And I 2nd the comment above. Your diaries here are invaluable. My only frustration with them is I've never seen you advise us what to do about them.

    I inherited lots of municipal bonds and I don't know if they are a good investment or not in times like this.

    And if not, what is? THAT is the diary I'd like to read from you!

    by ginja on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:23:54 AM PDT

  •  They rip off Drudge, too

    So your advice may not actually work.

    by corwin on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:24:12 AM PDT

  •  Hey, the stenographer media pool

    Is just waking up to what's really going on in the universe of discourse in America . . . and the world, for that matter.

    Here's a hint for all you worthless hacks who call yourselves journalists: you are no longer in front of the news.  You're chasing behind it, sometimes by days, sometimes by months, sometimes so far behind that you're clearly never going to catch up.

    I don't read mainstream papers anymore, and I NEVER watch tv news.  I get it all off Dkos, and I know I'm more well-informed than most people about what's going on in the U.S.

    by slippytoad on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 10:08:29 AM PDT

•  Imitation..

  ...is the sincerest form of flattery - even when done in a completely insincere fashion, it seems...

  by malcolm on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:53:43 AM PDT

•  I disagree

  MSM: What's a blog? Where do you chop it down?

  /snark

  by OWCH on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:53:53 AM PDT

•  There was a Bush boom?

  I wasn't aware there was even a nominal one.

  We've been in "recovery" since I don't know when the fuck.

  by slaney black on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 08:57:45 AM PDT

  •  yeah, it was on TV in March 2003.

    

    McCain wants to sing the sequel.

    by bubbanomics on Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:03:58 AM PDT

    •  Freedumb!!!

      by borkitekt on