The New York Post Sunday was the first print media to report that arch-conservative provocateuse Ann Coulter appears to have plagiarized — repeatedly — other writers in her books and columns. However, it’s not clear she’s going to suffer for it.
Others have been chasing this online for some time. But it was refreshing to see a newspaper pick up the story.
So what happens when a columnist is found using other’s words without attribution? I called Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes Coulter’s column to over 100 newspapers.
What’s the story? I asked Kathie Kerr, the company’s media relations chief. Is your company considering any action against Coulter? Will there be any fallout? “I think [Coulter] is the one that needs to address this,” Kerr told me at first.
I noted that in other plagiarism cases — Jayson Blair, for instance — the response was not left up to the writer. Indeed, in that case the New York Times and its editors bore responsibility for his misdeeds.
“After the investigation is complete and the allegations are proven correct, that’s right,” she told me.
So is there an investigation into Coulter’s writings? “Not that I know of,” Kerr replied. She promised to get in touch with Coulter’s editor and call me back.
Also, Kerr told me that so far, none of the papers carrying Coulter’s column have called to complain about the plagiarism, or to drop the feature.