Dead Wrong

It's always validating when other media outlets pick up an article you've written--especially when it's a fun one like the piece I wrote for the March Atlantic, "Management Secrets of the Grateful Dead." But journalism's unwritten code holds that if you're going to re-report someone else's story, you're supposed to mention the source. It's just polite.

This New York Times piece on the Dead, which diligently used every source in my piece, is a good example of what's considered permissible, burying a hat tip to the Atlantic near the bottom. It's enough that I can't complain, but not so prominent that an unwitting reader would think to himself, "Hey, they just ripped off an Atlantic piece!"

This clip from last night's CBS Evening News, on the other hand, does no such thing. For shame, Jim Axelrod--you're ruining your karma!

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