The following ran on page A3 of today’s Courant:
Two stories by Hillary Federico that appeared in the Hartford Courant contained words or phrases that bear strong similarities to work that appeared in other publications. The similarities were found during an internal, ongoing review that began after a similar issue was identified in a recent, unpublished story as it was being prepared for publication. One of the published stories, about a local Boy Scout troop traveling to Mt. Kilimanjaro, appeared on page B6 August 24. The other was a profile of two quilters that appeared on page B2 March 16. Our readers can be confident that The Hartford Courant takes adherence to journalistic standards very seriously. When we discover problems we take immediate action to correct them, and strong action to prevent them from happening again. Hillary Federico has resigned from The Hartford Courant.We apologize for this lapse, and be assured we will always take the necessary actions to maintain your trust.
Is the Courant going to report who is getting the $42 Million from the busway “Right of Way” budget? Now that the Courant has it’s interest in real news maybe they’re interested in who’s getting some of that sweet action?
@catspaw…you guys will post anywhere you think you can get attention, don’t you?
Mr. Gonzalez,
It is clear the Courant takes plagiarism very seriously. The Boy Scout story and another unpublished article proved intolerable.
One wonders if a simple observation on the use of $42 Million for the busway “right of way” will gain the same attention.
You may have no concern in the matter but while a Boy Scout story is a basis for a reporters dismissal perhaps a $42 Million dollar budget item might get some attention.
Sorry this observation on the priorities of the Hartford Courant has proved so distressing for you.
This is what is called a ‘comparison and contrast’ observation. One event, the dismissal of a reporter for a story about the Boy Scouts, is compared and contrasted with the Courant’s coverage on an investment of $600,000,000.00 in public transportation. Quick action on the Boy Scout story is compared with a $42 million dollar budget item that has received virtually no coverage.
Perhaps there is room for a $42 million dollar budget item, the unfortunate over reaction by the Courant in regard to Ms. Federico, well as your criticism of interest in the Courant’s performance in areas wider than the Boy Scout story.
I love the mentality of posting your story everywhere you can to try and drum up interest. If its important to you it must be important to everybody right! Please respond with more information about your pet project.
Amazed might make an excellent reporter for the Courant. A shared lack of interest in the $600,000,000.00 bus project may be a good match.
One point was missed in the previous comment and should be amplified. The public vilification of Ms. Federico was completely unnecessary and proves two things.
While the Courant boasts: “we will always take the necessary actions to maintain your trust” what the public sees is a cruel, very public condemnation of Ms. Federico while the paper has far more warts than a Boy Scout story gone wrong.
Second, “that bear strong similarities to work that appeared in other publications” is a poor excuse for public humiliation of Ms. Federico.
Maintaining a public trust includes an unbiased reporting on issues. The public at Elmwood will soon regret the one sided reporting and blind eye turned toward the busway project’s impact and the $42 Million gravy bowl being passed around in “right of way” pay offs.
While some seem content to humiliate Ms. Federico it should be pointed out loud and clear that the Courant has far greater responsibilities that have gone wholly ignored.
(Reference: Mr. Kevin Rennie’s article that revealed Aetna’s quintuple bonanza paid under the Rell Administration for a busway parking lot.)