Journalism Ethics 101: BusinessWeek denies lifting material from MakingSteel.com
Unraveling the mystery of how a reporter so appreciative of my Lewis Kaden profile somehow forgot to credit it.
© by Mark Reutter
Posted 9/9/09
Imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery. But not in journalism, where national organizations like BusinessWeek purport to uncover news and give readers fresh material with their large and talented staffs.
Take BW’s August 27 profile of Lewis B. Kaden (“The Most Powerful Banker You’ve Never Heard of”). The magazine ballyhoos the profile as “in-depth” reporting that reveals Kaden’s role as “the ultimate behind-the-scenes power player.”
Then go on and read it, and you will find uncanny similarities to my own profile of Kaden posted on May 4, 2009. The reason why is the subject of this article.
On July 15, I was contacted by BW banking reporter Mara Der Hovanesian. In a subsequent interview, Der Hovanesian gushed over my profile, saying it provided many missing links to the elusive Mr. Kaden, who she had been trying (without much apparent success) to research.
In specific, Der Hovanesian seemed unaware – or only vaguely aware – of the following aspects of Kaden’s professional life that were covered in my profile:
• his early life and role as lead director of Bethlehem Steel.
• his role as interim CEO of Citi Alternative Investments, a hedge
fund operation that lost Citi and outside investors billions of
dollars.
• his relationship with Robert Rubin.
• his role in orchestrating – and overseeing – the $40-billion-plus in
federal bailout money given to Citi.
She interviewed me about these matters under an explicit proviso: her word that she would credit my research in her article either through reference to my website or a quotation from me.
And Kaden’s role in these matters did appear in her profile – except, as pointed out below, Kaden’s connection with Beth Steel, which was excised in BW’s final editing.
To uncover the mystery of how a reporter so appreciative of my research in July somehow forgot to credit it a month later, I contacted her boss, BW Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler.
Adler agreed that “the two stories have much in common.” Yet such commonality in no way implied that Der Hovanesian had lifted material from my article.
Indeed, Adler wrote, “I don’t think she had an obligation to credit you” unless “she used anything that was particular to your piece and that she hadn’t found independently in talking with Kaden’s colleagues and acquaintances.”
For the record, my Kaden profile cites – and credits – 28 news articles, press releases, websites, and other source material (including two out-of-print books) as backup.
Remarkably, Ms. Der Hovanesian “independently” found many of these same sources.
Mystery solved!
Here’s my correspondence with BW.
From: mark reutter
To: Adler, Steve
September 05, 2009
Dear Mr. Adler,
Below is an e-mail from your writer, Mara Der Hovanesian, citing my detailed profile about the life and times of Lewis Kaden, published on my website on May 4, 2009: http://www.makingsteel.com/kaden.html. Look at both articles – you will see uncanny similarities.
Der Hovanesian contacted me by e-mail and interviewed me by phone on July 15. She said my article gave her many new leads to a story that she was stymied on about Kaden. Indeed, her August 27 article restates core information from my article, plus many specific details of Kaden's life, and even lifts some of my story's allusions (e.g., comparing Kaden to Zelig).
Der Hovanesian told me that she’d “absolutely” credit my work (or at least, quote from it or from me). I see no attribution to my work in her article.
Believing that such behavior does not correspond to your standards of reporting, I hope to hear from you ASAP on how this matter may be resolved.
Yours truly,
Mark Reutter
Wednesday, July 15, 2009 1:45 PM
From: "DerHovanesian, Mara"
To: reuttermark@yahoo.com
Mark:
I read with interest your profile on Kaden. I am currently working on a story about Citigroup and am spending some time on his contribution at the bank. I’d love to chat with you about your knowledge of his Bethlehem Steel days….
Mara Der Hovanesian
Associate editor, banking & finance
w. 212 -512-4035
mara_derhovanesian@businessweek.com
http://twitter.com/MaraDH/
http://www.businessweek.com/investing/wall_street_news_blog/
From: Adler, Steve
To: mark reutter
September 8, 2009
Mark:
Many thanks for bringing your excellent piece to my attention.
I agree that the two stories have much in common. And you deserve much credit for publishing yours first. That said, I do think most of the common elements relate to basic biographical information that is likely to appear in any good profile and for which Mara had more than one source. And I really don’t see a lot of similarity in language. I can find only one reference -- to Zelig – that would seem eyebrow-raising. In this case, I know Mara wasn’t lifting it from you because I added that reference myself after reading her draft. (The version of the story that I read, late in the editing process, included a reference to Chauncey Gardiner, but I thought Zelig was a closer fit and suggested the change to her editor.) I can assure you that I had no knowledge of your piece at the time.
As for attribution, it’s my understanding that Mara said she would cite your story if she used anything that was particular to your piece and that she hadn’t found independently in talking with Kaden’s colleagues and acquaintances. In an early draft there was, indeed, a reference to you in a section on Kaden’s involvement in Bethlehem Steel, but her editor cut the whole section for space and other considerations. I believe in being generous about attributions because it’s always a good thing to credit excellent work, and generosity begets generosity. But since my understanding is that Mara abided by her agreement, I don’t think she had an obligation to credit you.
Please let me know if you’d like to discuss this further.
Best regards,
Steve Adler
Stephen J. Adler
Editor-in-Chief
1221 Avenue of the Americas
43 floor
New York, NY 10020