Interest in the Ann Coulter plagiarism allegations continues to gain momentum. Coulter's newspaper employer, Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes her column nationally, is following up on the recent New York Post article in which renown plagiarism cop John Barrie detailed the many instances in which Coulter seemed to lift the work of others and pass it off as her own, both in her new book as well as her weekly column.
From the Post:
Her Aug. 3, 2005, column, "Read My Lips: No New Liberals," about U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter, includes six passages, ranging from 10 to 48 words each, that appeared 15 years earlier in the same order in an L.A. Times article, headlined "Liberals Leery as New Clues Surface on Souter's Views.
Universal Press Syndicate announced it would conduct its own investigation. While the company's at it, Universal ought to take a look at Coulter's latest column and ask what in the world is she doing? Unlike most of Coulter's attention-getting outbursts, the latest column isn't filled with her trademark, senseless invective. Instead, the column is simply jaw-droppingly bad, lazy, pointless and embarrassing. It must be read to be believed.
It consists of two parts. Up top, Coulter makes fun of the New York Post. Note she doesn't have the guts to actually mention the plagiarism charges the paper aired; she simply makes gratuitous, out-of-context slaps at the paper, calling it the second-worst paper in New York City. Then she proceeds to reproduce a Q&A the Post recently did with Coulter but chose to not print. It's a Q&A in which the Post writer, Larry Getlen, comes out looking vastly more intelligent and interesting than Coulter.
In other words, in her latest effort Coulter uses her column to settle personal scores (in a way that's completely baffling to most of her readers) and as a forum to interview herself. The kicker: At the end of the column she writes, "To be continued later this summer ..." Apparently Coulter plans on cutting and pasting more of the Post's scrapped Q&A at a more convenient date.
The arrogance Coulter's complete non-effort shows for Universal Press Syndicate and the newspapers that run her column is breathtaking. If the column took more than 15 minutes of her time I'd be shocked. It's the journalism equivalent -- and there's really no other way to describe it -- of handing in a turd on a piece of paper and telling your editor, 'Print this.'
That, combined with Coulter's plagiarism streak, begs the question, how long are Universal Press Syndicate and its clients going to put up with Coulter's complete -- and I mean complete -- abandonment of journalistic standards and professionalism?
UPDATE: TPMmuckraker has posted a laundry list of specifics regarding Coulter's alleged plagiarism.