lifted from fellow media institutions.

A statement signed by the Committee’s Chairman, Journalist Frank Sainworla, Jr. said the practice of not giving credit to sources where stories are lifted is “grossly unprofessional and amounts to plagiarism, an intellectual crime.”

The statement said this alert serves as a warning to all those involved to desist, as their failure will lead the Ethics Committee with no alternative but to begin publically naming and shaming in line with enforcement of the PUL’s code of conduct and ethics.
Article 3 of the code demands crediting of sources as it says: “The Journalist should refrain from plagiarism, defamation, obscenity, slander and unfounded accusations. Where there is need to use other’s material, it is proper to credit the source.”
The Committee observed that this warning is prompted by what now appears to be a pattern by some public and private media outlets to lift stories from others without giving the appropriate credit.

The Chairman of the Ethics Committee said it has particularly become more rampant with stories lifted from the Liberia News Agency (LINA).
“This is professionally wrong and must be discontinued, because crediting the source of a given information takes nothing away from a media house, but it in fact enhances professional credibility,” the Committee said.
Meanwhile, the PUL’s Ethics Committee is again reminding all Journalists and media outlets of their professional responsibility to ensure that their stories are at all times balance, fair and accurate with the truth being their guide.
LINA PTK