Cooks Source Magazine Proudly Admits to Plagiarism

This is really rather amazing. Monica Gaudio wrote an article for a website called Gode Cookery. Cooks Source republished the article, including her byline, without any permission or notice. Gaudio wrote to them, assuming it must have been an honest but egregious mistake. She received the following from editor Judith Griggs at Cooks Source:

But honestly Monica, the web is considered “public domain” and you should be happy we just didn’t “lift” your whole article and put someone else’s name on it! It happens a lot, clearly more than you are aware of, especially on college campuses, and the workplace. If you took offence and are unhappy, I am sorry, but you as a professional should know that the article we used written by you was in very bad need of editing, and is much better now than was originally.

More coverage at The Guardian and LA Times (which points out that Cooks Source has not yet responded to the uproar over this; the whole story, as we know it, comes from Gaudio thus far).

★ Thursday, 4 November 2010