NY Times investigating reporter for plagiarism

The New York Times is looking into the work of one its reporters following accusations that he plagiarized from The Wall Street Journal and other sources.

The paper published an editor’s note online Sunday and in papers Monday that said reporter Zachery Kouwe “appears to have improperly appropriated wording and passages published by other news organizations.”

The Times said Journal editors pointed out similarities between a Journal story from Feb. 5 and Times pieces later that day and on Feb. 6. The Times said a search found other similar examples taken from media outlets like Reuters and that an investigation is ongoing.

Kouwe declined to comment on Tuesday.

The Journal’s letter listed six examples from a story about Bernard Madoff’s relatives.

Among the examples was a sentence from Journal reporter Amir Efrati that read, “Mr. Picard said the family received about $141 million in the six months leading up to Mr. Madoff’s December 2008 arrest.” The letter pointed out that Kouwe’s version read, “Mr. Picard said the family received about $141 million in the six months leading up to Mr. Madoff’s arrest in December 2008.”

The Times said that a search of Kouwe’s work didn’t turn up any indications that his stories had any inaccuracies. The newspaper declined to comment on any penalties Kouwe could face.

In 2003, Times reporter Jayson Blair resigned from the paper after it became clear that he had engaged in plagiarism and fabrications in his work.