Plagiarism has been called “the unoriginal sin” of journalism. In media circles, it is regarded as the most egregious breach of ethics a reporter can commit. As we discovered recently, the Iowa State Daily is not immune to plagiarism.

On Tuesday morning, Aaron Ladage, arts and entertainment editor, and Mark Witherspoon, editorial adviser of the Iowa State Daily, received phone calls from a reader of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The reader was an ISU alumna and former Daily employee who noticed striking similarities between Daily staff writer Daniel C. Hartman’s March 9 article “Starsky and Hutch accurately recreates ’70s era” and Minneapolis Star-Tribune staff writer Colin Covert’s March 4 article “Reliving the ’70s with Starsky & Hutch.”

Further investigation revealed more plagiarism within several of Hartman’s other articles. He had plagiarized at least eight articles, most of which were film reviews from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Several other stories were also considered questionable and are being investigated.

Regardless of whether a reporter writes for the Iowa State Daily, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune or the New York Times, the consequences of plagiarism are the same in almost every newsroom in the United States. The person is fired, or in rare cases, suspended.

Although the Daily prides itself on providing a coaching environment where reporters can learn from their own successes and mistakes, plagiarism is unacceptable. Hartman’s employment at the Daily has been terminated.

Plagiarism destroys a newspaper’s credibility by removing the element of trust between the reader and a story. The Daily apologizes for any ethical breaches made by this reporter. We also ask for the ISU community’s assistance in resolving this issue and preventing future incidents. Please contact the Daily by e-mail or phone if you have any concerns regarding Hartman’s articles. The findings of the investigation, along with readers’ concerns, will be published in the Daily in the near future.

— Aaron Ladage is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Tripoli. He is the arts and entertainment of the Daily.

— Nicole Paseka is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Onawa. She is the editor in chief of the Daily.

— Lucas Grundmeier is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale. He is the managing editor of content and development of the Daily.