Domenech said he needed to research the examples but that he never used material without attribution and had complained about a college editor improperly adding language to some of his articles.Although he certainly hasn't earned the privilege, let's all give Howie Kurtz the benefit of the doubt--that he filed his story before he had a chance to learn about the extent of Ben Domenech's plagiarism. (Apparently, the editors of the National Review and the New York Press shared with Ben's college paper editor a flagrant disregard for copyright laws.)
Let's also set aside Kurtz's extraordinary gullibility. (I mean, come on: "My editor did it"?) True journalist that he isn't, Kurtz didn't ask a single follow-up question about why Domenech may have allowed another student to sully his name in this way. And that just about sums up the problem: in the interest of publishing views from "all sides," too many journalists will print without question stuff that simply defies common sense.
The clock is ticking for both Domenech's career as a corporate blogger and for the Washington Post's credibility. Perhaps in celebration of its third-day anniversary, Red America has been silent for 21 hours now. Can we assume that Ben is having breakfast in the woodshed?
Update: In imitation of our fearless President, Domenech is quickly losing his conservative base.
