To our readers:
At The Michigan Daily, we believe accountability to our readers is
our No. 1
job. That’s why we feel compelled to tell you about an
investigation the Daily
is conducting.
The editors have discovered that parts of an article published
on April 9, 2004,
are not the original work of the author. Sections of “About a
Boy,” which looked
back on rocker Kurt Cobain a decade after his death, were
plagiarized from
another news source.
Plagiarism is simply unacceptable at the Daily because it
violates the trust
between newspaper and reader. It undermines our mission of speaking
with an
independent voice, and it violates our deepest sense of ethics.
That is why the
story’s author is no longer a member of the Daily’s
staff.
But more steps must be taken. The editors will investigate how
this ethical
lapse happened and whether it goes beyond a single story. We will
decide what
safeguards will best prevent plagiarism in the future. And we will
report our
findings to you as soon as possible.
No publication has the resources to check every word of every
story and promise
an invincible defense against plagiarism. But we pledge to do
everything
possible to prevent it. With its own voice and its own judgment,
the Daily will
continue to work for your trust.
-Jordan Schrader
Editor in Chief
The Michigan Daily