Army Post Road

     It’s not even hyperbole folks, it actually happened. The Daily Iowan fired (atleast they have the honesty to come forward and admit to the situation) a columnist of theirs for plaigarizing a report from the Democratic Policy Committee. I’ll just let their, “Oh Shit, We’d Better Hurry Up And Cover Our Asses,” letter speak for itself.

We here at The Daily Iowan recently learned that the July 6 column “Minimum wage no-brainer” was largely plagiarized from a report released June 29 by the Democratic Policy Committee. On behalf of The Daily Iowan staff, I sincerely apologize and deeply regret that such a piece appeared in our newspaper.

Per staff policy, the harshest possible action has been taken against this employee, and John Heineman will no longer work for this publication. We performed an investigation of all his previous work since joining the paper in the fall of 2005. This search revealed no prior cases of plagiarism.

We have treated this situation with the utmost caution and deliberation in hopes that never again will a member of our staff perpetrate this breach of professional ethics.

In light of this episode, the DI has begun discussing ways to prevent the recurrence of plagiarism in our pages. Already, Opinions staff writers are now required to submit a file to their editor detailing through what research and from whom they gathered their story’s information. We are pursuing ways to prevent plagiarism in our other departments.

Every day we strive to produce fair and accurate stories, and we understand that such an infraction can be damaging to our reputation. We nevertheless hope that this incident will not deter people from continuing to read and trust in The Daily Iowan.

- Meghan Sims, editor

“I sincerely apologize and take full responsibility for my mistake. It has been an honor to write for the DI - even though I am ending my tenure under these unfortunate circumstances. I still encourage anyone who has an active opinion on the issues of our time to consider expressing your views through the paper. It is truly a platform that can be used for positive change.”

- John Heineman, former DI columnist

     I will swear to you here and now, people, that my Letter-To-The-Editor that appeared in the DI last week was entirely of my own creation. Who would rant and rave with such style and vocabulary as I?